Christmas too!

eat more. Well, you cannot let it go to waste. And look around you. We are a very fat nation and statistics and surveys prove it. ***

Sometimes there is more disappointment than pleasure to be perceived in the looks of children. ‘Is that all?’ they seem to say. The presents were so much nicer in their imagination, they are thinking, and in their story books the trees and presents are bigger and more alluring. They will soon learn that real life is different from the Sunday supplements and that there are constraints and limitations. ***

But the universal commotion of Christmas has something cheerful in it. Life is quickened everywhere; there is a sense of wellbeing – and we try to forget the bills and postpone paying them after the festivities are over. In the Christmas period we try to look at the good and for a few days ignore our problems, and the massive and diverse tragedies in the world.

So, don’t be disheartened if you cannot keep up with the glossies. We are surrounded by hype and therefore no matter the effort, our Christmas never quite matches the pictures in the glossies or on television where mothers always look fresh, their makeup and hair impeccable and their nails decorated with little flowers or faux diamonds.

I still give myself manicures thus wrecking my aspirations to social acceptability. Hardly anyone is their own manicurist these days. ***

We have to be thankful. For so many there will be no Christmas and no 2018. So let’s make the best of it even if all you really want is to take the day off and dive under the duvet. If you have the phone next to you sit bolt upright before answering. Your voice sounds different when you are horizontal. They can tell.

But we know we shall not be allowed to spend Christmas Day under the duvet. A very Happy Christmas to you all and a 2018 full of blessings. mbenoit@independent.com.mt