Anticipation. I think that’s key to holidays like Christmas and New Year’s, especially this year. We’ve been looking forward to them for so long. What will happen when they actually get here?

I’m afraid we may be in for disappointment. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

COVID aside, much of the holiday season is about preparing. We shop for gifts, bake cookies, plan parties, mail cards, decorate our houses and trees. For those who celebrate Christmas, from Thanksgiving on, it’s all about Christmas, all the time. Christmas music and movies play nonstop. We’re inundated with ads for gift-giving. Charities, churches and non-profits make pleas for donations.

This is what we expect, and even with COVID, or maybe because of it, we haven’t slowed down or altered our preparations much. In fact, we’ve probably spent more time planning how we will celebrate with – or without — others this year.

I get the feeling everyone is grasping at Christmas as a chance for normalcy in a year that’s been anything but normal.

Anticipation extends an experience

Anticipation can be a good thing. It allows us to enjoy something more, for a longer time. As we anticipate something positive, we think about it and feel good about it. It’s pleasant. This is usually true of Christmas.

Sure, some of us get stressed during the holidays. I know I have. During too many years I felt I didn’t have enough money to get the gifts I wanted for my family members. Finding time to get everything done was challenging while working full time and parenting. Parties and gatherings could be stressful. Often, I’d sigh in relief when it was done.

But then, too, I’d feel a letdown, a sadness that it was over for another year. And now we’d go into the long, dark winter with little to anticipate.

More recently, I’ve found that a lot of my feelings about holidays and my birthday probably stemmed from depression. It’s hard to be up when you’re down and your brain keeps sending you negative messages. Since I’ve come out of much of that negativity, I’ve realized it’s easier for me to be happier. Even at Christmas.

Hope for the future

But that downside still lingers. I can see how it could be really bad this year. After all of this anticipation and a potentially awkward COVID Christmas, what will happen? Will we feel let down or will it be a bright spot?

Many people are looking to 2021 as a salve for the past year. But as the clock strikes midnight, we won’t miraculously be transported to a different time. We, and the world, will be the same. Hopeful, but the same.

Will that hope be enough to bring us through what certainly will continue to be challenging times? Vaccines are rolling out, and some people have immunity. Perhaps in the near future, COVID will be knocked out, allowing us to return to some of the gatherings and events we enjoy with others.

May we anticipate brighter times ahead and enjoy the preparation, even as we near the Christmas holiday and New Year’s Eve. Let’s stay positive yet grounded and see this through.

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How to Be a Better Writer Tip

Write a thank-you note

Did your mom make you write thank you notes when you were a kid? It’s a habit I got into with my own kids. Now, it’s such a routine, that as soon as I get a gift, I think about the note I need to write.

This is not an email. It’s an actual note. I like to buy pretty note cards, blank on the inside, so I can write a short message of thanks.

There’s something about putting pen to paper, pausing to think about the gift and the person who gave it, and to give thanks in that moment and then to write it down and send it. You’ll feel good, and the person who gave you the gift will feel good upon receiving your note.

Give it a try this year. If you normally just say thank you in person, try sending a note, as well. You may make someone’s day, and you’ll be writing in a grateful state of mind, which will make you feel good, too.