Ah, Christmas.

As much as I whine about the stress of the holiday, I still look forward to it. Sure, we don't have buckets of money so it's not like the hilariously pitiable Christmas tree the spousal unit hunts and gathers from the woods around us each year is surrounded with mountains of gifts.

Still, it's a happy time because it's a time when family comes together.

Except for my sister.

My sister is my reminder that for some people Christmas is a truly miserable time. The holiday that most strongly celebrates family can be very tough on the people who for one reason or another didn't make families of their own.

When my father was alive, she used to celebrate Christmas at his home, but he's been dead a few years now. Our stepbrother makes her welcome at his home, but his Christmas includes his in-laws as well, and she feels like an odd wheel there and doesn't like to go.

We've invited her here, but we're 1,000 km from where she lives and she doesn't like to travel that far.

There are many ways to build Family, of course, and as far as I'm concerned it can be as much about friendship as it can be about blood ties. That part of my sister's life has been hard hit, too.

The section of southwestern Ontario where she lives has been kneecapped by factory closedowns. People are moving out to western Canada where there are more jobs. Over the last two years her closest friends have one by one had to pack up and head down the Trans-Canada Highway.

We had a long telephone conversation this weekend. There will be a few more before the holiday comes. Long, sad chats that leave me feeling drained because I cannot change her life. I cannot undo choices she made in relationships. I cannot fix the economy and bring her friends back. I cannot resurrect our father.

So all I can do is listen and hope that by pouring out her sadness, she makes room for other feelings.

Ah, Christmas.

--Marn

P.S.--If you're doing any of your Christmas shopping at Amazon this year, why not do it through Blue Sphere? Five per cent of what you spend will be donated by Amazon to Blue Sphere, and will be given to the Foster Parents Plan of Canada.

Yep, you get to make a large corporation cough up five per cent of its profits AND at no cost to yourself you get to help some poor kids out. What's not to love about that, eh?