Christmas
Christmas...if you are not a water, sun, summer kind of person chances are Christmas is your favorite time of year. Certainly was mine before I lost Cassi. Fortunately, my 6 year old nephew loves the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas". If you haven't seen it, you should. It's about this sweet little skeleton named Jack that lives in a year round Halloween world and accidently stumbles into a year round Christmas town and falls in love with the concept. He tries to visit and give Christmas people Halloween presents but since they have not known what Halloween is they just get scared and initially reject him. It's kind of a cult classic and once you watch it you are usually hooked. The store Hot Topic always has tons of merchandise. So since Jack is now a fan I can buy him things that I might have bought Cassi once upon a time, when I had the world at my fingertips and didn't know it.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE wrapping presents. I like themes, specialty wrapping paper and bows. So I have been wrapping tons of gifts for Jack and I really love it. Have not put up a tree...maybe next year.
Sooo, I have shingles. I have had them before so I know what they are. There isn't much I can do about it now except wait it out. I am not getting out at all because even though shingles isn't contagious per se, if someone has not had chicken pox they can catch it from me. It's very odd...if you have ever had chicken pox you have the virus that in adulthood can cause shingles, but you can't "catch" shingles, just chicken pox. So many people don't like to vaccinate their kids these days so I just won't risk it. I don't know what cause this outbreak. I am stressed, for sure, but not nearly as bad as the week I lost Cassi...I have been using some new skin care products and that could be it. They have a lot or Retinol in them and I have been overusing them so it has really irritated my skin. Stress, sunburn, skin irritations can bring out the shingles...so I am pretty sure it's the products. It is no fun. It's painful, itchy and for some reason shameful. I don't know why but I feel ashamed, I don't want people to know. There is confusion and I don't want them to be afraid of catching them from me. Also, I guess because it is from the herpetic family of viruses, just like chicken pox and cold sore, it just seems worse.
I know everyone is feeling the Christmas blues, it just seems like it is worse this year. I will just feel better when it is over, I hope.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE wrapping presents. I like themes, specialty wrapping paper and bows. So I have been wrapping tons of gifts for Jack and I really love it. Have not put up a tree...maybe next year.
Sooo, I have shingles. I have had them before so I know what they are. There isn't much I can do about it now except wait it out. I am not getting out at all because even though shingles isn't contagious per se, if someone has not had chicken pox they can catch it from me. It's very odd...if you have ever had chicken pox you have the virus that in adulthood can cause shingles, but you can't "catch" shingles, just chicken pox. So many people don't like to vaccinate their kids these days so I just won't risk it. I don't know what cause this outbreak. I am stressed, for sure, but not nearly as bad as the week I lost Cassi...I have been using some new skin care products and that could be it. They have a lot or Retinol in them and I have been overusing them so it has really irritated my skin. Stress, sunburn, skin irritations can bring out the shingles...so I am pretty sure it's the products. It is no fun. It's painful, itchy and for some reason shameful. I don't know why but I feel ashamed, I don't want people to know. There is confusion and I don't want them to be afraid of catching them from me. Also, I guess because it is from the herpetic family of viruses, just like chicken pox and cold sore, it just seems worse.
I know everyone is feeling the Christmas blues, it just seems like it is worse this year. I will just feel better when it is over, I hope.
Replies
I think it\'s great that you are finding things to wrap! I\'m not feeling the Christmas spirit this year at all myself, and am not looking forward to the holiday. I\'m glad that Jack brings you happiness and that you can give him some of the things you found at Hot Topic. I\'ve been in there, it\'s an interesting store.
Shingles don\'t seem like much fun at all. I\'ve known 2 people that have had them twice and they tell me it\'s awful. Hang in there and do your best to not scratch at them or irritate them further. It will eventually go away I suppose and hopefully you will be able to get out more.
Enjoy your wrapping!! I bet your packages are beautiful! I used to love to wrap and decorate the packages....haven\'t done that in many years. Maybe I\'ll try my hand at it again this year with presents for my niece???
My Tammy recently had the shingles too. It wasn\'t a bad breakout and it didn\'t last too long, thank goodness. I\'ve heard it can be VERY painful. I\'m sorry it\'s hit you, and hope it will run it\'s course quickly. Nothing to be ashamed of dear!! I get big ole honkin cold sores sometimes that look really nasty and hurt like hell. But, there\'s no shame in that either....I just take care of it best I can and move on with whatever it is I need to do. If it gives haters something to talk about, oh well, piss on them. I really don\'t give a shit.
Take care of YOU beautiful and know you are loved very much!
Love to Cassi!
My mom used to love to wrap the most beautiful presents as well and I think looked at my often \"rush\" jobs and would shake her head. I imagine that yours are simply beautiful.
I have known many who have had the shingles including my step mom and it was so painful for her that even the feel of sheets at night or the wind on her skin sent her into horrible pain. Please take the best care of yourself that you can and when I feel shame I try to lean into it to see where it is coming from. Usually just my old conditioning/thought form about things that just don\'t serve me anymore so I\'m hopeful you can be as gentle with yourself as possible. I\'m so sorry you have them. Bummer!
Enjoy your wrapping! :)
Love to Cassi and to you,
XO Joanie
Your present wrapping sounds like an art! I was a rush wrapper like Joanie. Once in awhile my mom used to used the prettiest wrapping paper (sometimes kitchen towels or cloth) and use lace to tie it all up in a bow. It was like getting extra presents! Enjoy that fun with your nephew too. It is nice to have someone to spoil. We don\'t have anyone.
So sorry to hear about your shingles. It sounds painful and I was interested in all your information about it. My mom once had a sheet blow on her face coming in from the back yard and she missed the step. It gave her some bruises on her face. She refused to go anywhere. I was thinking that it was silly - just this morning for some reason.
Holiday blues can be harsh the first few years or they were for me anyway. I now enjoy the significance and the generosity of people on the news this time of year.
Sending love and tight hugs,
Leda
I have to watch \"The Nightmare Before Christmas\" again. I watched it long ago and forgot what it was about. I\'m going to check if it\'s on Netflix.
My youngest daughter, Amber, always drags me into Hot Topic when we go to the mall. So I always know where to go to buy her birthday and Christmas gifts with my \"Hot Cash\". :)
You make wrapping presents sound like so much fun! I bet your gifts look so beautiful! I never liked the wrapping part and tend to do a rush job on it, which of course one can always tell it was my wrap job. lol
Oh Gina, I\'m so sorry about your illness with the shingles. My mom and husband had bouts with that but I never did (although I did have a bad case of chicken pox as a child). Fortunately, there is the vaccine now which Amber received as a child. My older 3 suffered with the illness itself.
Please take care and get plenty of stress-free rest my friend. Hopefully you will be feeling better soon.
With love and hugs,
Diane
I have not done any Christmas shopping yet. I need to get out and do it, but I am just not feeling it!! Your journal reminded me of Dean\'s wrapping of Christmas presents. He wrapped them in funny papers, lol. He wanted to spend more on the gift, so wouldn\'t buy wrapping paper. I tried to give him some of my paper, but he liked his way better. I think he got a kick out of us always knowing which gifts were from him. I miss him so much...
(((HUGS))), Julia
So sorry about Shingles. That is definitely a painful condition. I hope it resolves quickly.
Enjoy wrapping! I wish we were closer. You could do our wrapping. We don\'t exchange may gifts but there is one under our tree now - taped in a gift bag!
I smiled when you mentioned Hot Topic. Cevyn works at Hot Topic in Ottawa!
Wishing you peace.
Love and tight hugs, M
oh my goodness! Sorry about the shingles! get better quickly!
I am glad you are enjoying wrapping gifts for your nephew. Anything that brings joy at this time of year is such a blessing to us grieving moms, I think. Much love to you and dearest Cassi, Linda
Feel better real soon Gina.
I am so sorry about your shingles....my dad suffered with them off & on for years. Since I am 61, I am able to get the vaccine but haven\'t yet....there is no shame in shingles but I do know that feeling - pray that you recover quickly.
As far as Christmas - it has never been my favorite holiday but now I could skip the whole darn thing and that would be okay by me.....I feel like a robotic Santa - doing what I need to do or what I am supposed to do, but my heart is far from really feeling it.....SIGH
(((((HUGS))))) vICKI
Gina, I have not had a Christmas tree in many years. Maybe some day. As for your shingles, you do not have to stay away from people nor be ashamed. About one in three people who have had chickenpox will develop it and EVERYONE who has ever had chicken pox carries the dormant virus. I have had many outbreaks of it. (Although they have lessened over the years). You are not contagious before the blisters and after they scab over. And another person can only catch chicken pox if they come into direct contact with the fluid from the blisters. It is not highly contagious! I would still hold my granddaughter, even if I had an outbreak! Mine has always been concentrated in my left buttock/hip area and easily covered up.
Peace XOXO Belinda
Three of my family has had the shingles and it was very painful. I hope you can recover soon. Christmas is another day to get passed and hoping that it is done soon. I do try to have the real meaning in my heart more, peace and good will for all. This world surely needs it. Peace, Kathy
The grand daughters have not put up my tree so I am not decorating. You can come over to my house and wrap the gifts I have bought I hate wrapping
I do love watching the kids open up their presents.
I do hope your shingles do not last long, when the first of the brake out starts you can get on Meds to help ease things and have a shorter life span.
Hugs
Penny