It's all about perspective this holiday season

Before you get too deep into this post, I just wanted to warn you that this will be sappy and filled with emotion. I know, it’s supposed to be a sports website where I talk about cool things and show you neat photography, but I’m human alright?

Okay. Let’s proceed.

I’m sitting down to write this post nearly 15 days after I shared my thoughts about the Thanksgiving holiday and my gratitude for all that has occurred for me this past year. As I begin this post it’s 11:11 PM on December 25th and I once again am writing a post about the Christmas holiday.

We’ve just returned home from a small family gathering where we’ve been vaccinated, some of us tested, and many of us boosted. I found myself putting away gifts from loved ones, organizing things, and preparing to move forward with December 26. I’ve been overcome with emotions sharing yet another Christmas with my mother (cancer survivor), my father, my sister, her significant other, my aunt, and my cousins.

We are all healthy, making tremendous strides in our lives, and are surrounded by a loving and caring family. We couldn’t be more blessed as we were surrounded by love on this joyous day. The one time of the year where everyone puts their differences aside to gather and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

It’s easy to forget that not everyone is as fortunate as us.

As I was preparing to take my evening shower, I hopped on social media and specifically TikTok. I was greeted with a heart-warming video of a young man with special needs who was elated to received a CD of Justin Bieber and a portable DVD player. These are things that most people today wouldn’t consider to be “high price” items but for this young man, it was certainly an ideal holiday season.

His genuine emotion allowed me to recall Christmas’ of my childhood and the joy I received when opening up a meaningful gift from a member of my family.

It was magical.

The next video was a dose of reality.

It featured a caption saying “Thinking mom’s brain cancer would get better” with a sound from a movie of some sort saying “oh well, it was nice while it lasted, right?” and showed a woman preparing to ring a bell (which is traditionally a practice reserved for when one completes chemotherapy). The woman makes a motion like she was practicing, and she looks normal until she turns around and her head is completely shaved and it is evident that she is receiving serious treatment. The video pans back to a young woman (presumably her daughter and in the present-day) saying “it was nice while it lasted” as she begins to cry.

Her caption for the TikTok says “I’m sorry I’m not making cookie videos right now…I’m not really in a good place.” I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry. What can be a magical time for many of us can be tragic for others.

That’s where things came full circle for me. My family and I are so blessed to not only be healthy but have each other. We live in a time filled with incredible uncertainty, where no two days are the same. Life isn’t very predictable anymore and it seems to get more uncertain with each passing day. We need to cherish every opportunity that we are given, thank God for the gift of another day on this planet, because it all can be taken away in an instant.

So now that you’ve made it this far, I have one request.

Go make a positive impact in someone’s life before New Year and carry that positive momentum with you into 2022. We all need to be a bit nicer to one another and one act of kindness can go a long way.

I hope you have a blessed holiday season with those that you love and if you are struggling and need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out for help.