Hello Neeks!

We have a special entry this week. Lisa Le Master is a fellow writer who wanted to share a special holiday movie she wanted to discuss. I hope you like her take on the new Grinch movie starring  Benedict Cumberbatch. Thanks. Lisa for your thoughts on this classic Christmas retelling. 

Merry Christmas

 

   

 

 

An Oh Too Silent Night

By Lisa LeMaster
This time of year can be full of noise. The Holiday season is known for its chaos from running around from store to store getting what you need on your list, to going Christmas parties and other Christmas festivities. The mixture of Christmas music, car horns and cash registers dings is a pretty good summary of the sounds of Christmas. You hear everywhere that it’s the best time of the year and that the spirit of Christmas will bring joy to everyone both young and old. For many this is true, spending time with family, friends, coworkers alike. It is easy to feel happy when we’re celebrating by giving to friends and loved ones alike. For many, young and old, this is the best time of year but to some, this time of year can be a bit more difficult.

Even if you can ignoring the stresses that the holidays can bring, this time of year can still be very difficult. While most people visit with family and friends there are a lot of people that don’t have love ones to celebrate with. Either they are tied down with work schedules, deployed, don’t have family near, or simply they don’t have anyone to celebrate with. The year after a loved one’s passing is especially hard. When we see those all around us fill of holiday spirit it can create an even bigger void than before.

Like the Grinch, we just want to noise to stop hoping to not to have the constant reminder of being alone. It can be difficult not to become hardened and bitter this time of year when the happiness of Christmas is everywhere else but in your own life. That’s what happened to our poor Grinch for 53 years. In the newest addition, we see that the reason he hates Christmas is that he never had anyone to celebrate with. As an orphan, he saw everyone around him celebrating. All the while he had no presents, no feast or even a family to call his own. Every year was a bitter reminder of what he didn’t have and what no one was willing to bring.  Eventually, he got tired of being reminded of his loneliness. So year after year with no one to love him, his heart became smaller and smaller. He hardened his heart overtime and eventually he became a bitter angry Grinch of a who. His bitterness drove him to his mean little scheme to stop Christmas from coming.

Luckily in this little story we have a humble little heroine named Cindy loo who. Cindy Loo Who’s mother didn’t have it easy during the Holidays. As a single mother with three kids she struggles with how to keep  up with all that needs to be done. You can see Cindy’s mom falling asleep from mere exhaustion because she is working every possible shift to make ends meet. She is often at those moments on the verge of tears trying to convince herself that somehow she’s got this. Cindy, instead of looking inward to what was best for herself, seeks  out what she can do to help her mother. That’s how she devises a plan to meet Santa.

When the Grinch meets Cindy her simple act of putting her mother before her own wants is enough to break the hardness of his heart. Cindy’s concern for her mother may have melted his heart but the Grinch was still mean. The Grinch still continued forth with his plan to stop Christmas from coming. He stole all the presents, decorations even the last can of Who-Hash! Even after everything he had done, instead of becoming angry, Cindy invited him over to her holiday festivities which is exactly the last thing one would want to do to someone who was so cruel. but was exactly what the Grinch needed.

Christmas tends to bring out the best and the worst in people. For anyone whose worked in retail or hospitality services, this is the time of year you hear a lot of people wanting the manager and getting a larger piece of the customer’s mind than you ever wanted. What Cindy did was like asking that angry person at the cash register over for a family cookie baking night. The last person you might want to have there. Those that lash out at Christmas, are many times deeply hurting inside. However, not everyone who is hurting will lashes out. Take Max the Grinch’s pup. He wants to be included and loved just like any other dog would. He is quiet about his need to be included. Max wants to be a part of a family on Christmas just like anyone else and by Cindy extending a simple invitation, his Christmas is forever changed.

It is difficult not to get caught up with the hustle of the holidays; the obligations, the gift buying, the noise. There are so many people out there that don’t have the ability to celebrate Christmas because of circumstances or they just don’t have anyone to celebrate with. Even though traditionally Christmas is about celebrating with family, adopt someone into your family this year who does not have someone. For those that do not have someone to celebrate with, the being included can be the best gift someone could ever give.