I believe two things happen simultaneously in December: we feel the urge to gather with friends, family, and loved ones on one hand, and on the other, we seek to slow ourselves down and get ready for the winter before us. These feelings clash and play on each other, and in some, create a certain sadness and malaise.
This year, I received a few holiday party invites from colleagues and friends around the world of new media. It’s new to me, because I’ve spent the last 16 years in larger companies that have a holiday party and that are insular in their devise. In the old days, the parties were great insofar as we all knew each other, and this was one evening to express the energy and effort we’d put into the “battles” of the previous year.
In my new role, I’ve only been here since October. My role is a crazy collection of duties and exciting projects that lead me all over the place, and let me interact with more people than my previous jobs. This makes for lots of great feelings of connection with lots of wonderful people. I’ve received party invites from some, and I got my first new media-sent holiday card from Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells.
Speaking of events, I’ll be heading to New York City on the morning of the 14th for a breakfast with the New York Media Information Exchange Group (NYMIEG), and that looks to be pretty cool. First off, I’ll have a chance to see some (at least one) of my friends planning PodCamp New York City face to face. I’ll also get to meet some of Bill Sobel’s close and personal friends (like the guy behind Channel Frederator and the founder of MTV, among others). So that will be nice.
Community and the Blues
And at the same time, I’ve come to realize (or at least finally admit) that I suffer from the Holiday Blues. For whatever reason, when it comes time to decorate the house, get the tree, all those things, I get a feeling of sorrow or something like it. It’s not anything I can point to, and it’s not especially bothersome to my life. But when I think about the overall STUFF of the holiday season, I get a little down.
It’s taken Katrina several years to accept this and work around it. Whenever she starts blasting Charlie Brown Christmas and stringing lights in the house, I sneak off to the bathroom or do little things around the edges to help. When she gets all jazzed about taking out the holiday ornaments (and we have some really cool ones collected over the years), I find other things that need doing with full attention. But we’re realizing this about me, and it’s okay. It’s just what I do. Having a happy, passionate daughter helps the feeling.
As People Hunker Down
As people start to hunker down in the colder climes, I think we also start to look back and forward at the same time. We look at where we’ve come from, and where we’re going. Just like a cold cellar ready to receive the fall’s harvest, we take stock of what we put away this year, and we look at what we can improve on for next year.
So, too, will I be doing as I consider the coming year.