I really enjoy Christmas, the new year and everything associated with this time of year to be quite honest.
I love Christmas music, and I love the lights, especially when there is snow, as it seems to accentuate the colours of the lights.
The snow can add to the
pastoral scenery that is prevalent throughout Grand Forks; driving when it is snowing heavily is a different story though, but let’s not get started about that.
I love the Christmas parties and the festive atmosphere and I like Christmas movies, whether it is Home Alone or A
Christmas Carol, whether Scrooge McDuck is playing the lead role or Alastair Sim or George C. Scott.
The gift giving is great but as I grow older, I find the time with the family is what I cherish most and that is what I enjoy most about this time of year, the time off.
December is extremely hectic, with all the Christmas concerts and events that go on around town and the fact that there are only two people in the Grand Forks Gazette’s editorial department (soon to be temporarily one, with reporter Cassandra Chin’s return to the east).
The workload in the month of December is heavy with condensed schedules at the office, as there is added work due to the office being closed for the holidays.
Throw in covering the aforementioned concerts, related events and the recently published holiday supplement and you have a lot of work in a very short period of time.
Mere days to edit, write, co-ordinate pictures, lay out multiple newspapers, as opposed to the normal week it takes for one.
There’s no use complaining, as that won’t get the work done, so you soldier on.
The payoff is the extreme sense of relief that comes after all the work is done and the knowledge that some time off draws nigh.
Time to head home, be merry, see family and friends, and just sit around and do nothing, which might not seem healthy but given all that I’ve been doing the past month it is a welcome relief. And that to me, is the greatest gift of all.