I don't fare very well during the Christmas season, and it doesn't have anything to do with seasonal depression, Christmas carols, or even the frigid weather that the Midwest is known for. I don't fare well because of Christmas presents.

 

 

When I was a kid, Christmas presents were the Holy Grail... they were the reason to behave (at least right before Christmas). Once I grew up, my attitude started becoming more resentful, and as you can imagine, I was not much fun at my ex-wife's family Christmas get-togethers. Indeed, I became quite a scrooge. After my divorce, I spent Christmas completely alone, with only my dogs keeping me company. It's no wonder why this year, I have asked that none of my family buys me anything for Christmas... I refuse to buy presents for anyone, and I genuinely don't want to receive any presents. I am genuinely insulted when I tell my family not to buy me anything and they go out and buy presents for me regardless. It actually makes me feel like they don't care that I don't want anything... if I want something, I'll buy it myself, cut and dry. 2 years working for a greedy corporation that taught me to be indifferent to people's emotions doesn't help much either.

 

 

If you do enjoy giving and receiving Christmas presents, all the more power to you. Personally, I don't care for either, and I just wish more people would understand and BELIEVE me when I say that. If I wanted to pay you lip service, I'm sure I could find better and more productive things to say... but that's just me.

 

 

This rant written by Joe Rosendorf Jr.  This is merely an opinion based on personal experiences, and is intended to inform based on those experiences.