Are The Holidays Over Yet?

Here I sit, smack dab between Christmas and New Years and unlike most folks caught up in the "Joys of the Season," I am counting down the days until I can go back to work (as a substitute teacher, I don't have to go back to work until at least Jan 2nd). Although being a sub isn't as glamorous as it seems, it's still a DISTRACTION. Yelling at kids for 8 hours a day is a thousand times better than sitting here feeling sorry for myself. That's the one thing that makes me so happy about my husband's deployment. He tells me that it's going so FAST for him, he's so busy all the time that the months have just flown by.
But, as I am writing this, I have decided that I am absolutely NOT going to feel sorry for myself! There are two reasons why:
Reason #1: There are so many other people out there that have it worse off than me. Yeah, my husband's in Iraq. Boo hoo for me. But what about the people that have lost their loved one? And not just in Iraq or Afganistan, but people right here at home. Every day there is a tragedy. Every day you can turn on the news and see another child kidnapped or fatal car accident or a house fire or even a child drowning in a backyard pool. What about the people who are living with a terminal illness? The people who just had their last Christmas and they know it?
Reason #2: We have so many people that care about us. Sgt Wally is thousands of miles away, but my father, sister, brother, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and the greatest set of in-laws anyone could ask for are all right here for me (by the way, that adorable lil Shih Tzu is the newest addition to my father & step-mother in-law's family!). I am easily stressed, and Christmas is the mother of all stressors! We have a thousands places to go, and not enough hours to do it! Who can we move to Christmas Eve? What presents go to whose house? Should we buy for him? Do NOT let me buy another present for my sister! But then I remind myself of people who are completely alone. There are so many out there who don't have any family, no one to visit on Christmas. They say that suicide rates are the highest during the holidays. I thank God everyday for what I do have. I have a great family, wonderful friends, and a husband that "lovesh" me to the extent of making almost every guy he knows gag. He may be far away right now, but I know that he will be coming home and we have the rest of our lives to make a beautiful family together. I am the luckiest woman on Earth.