Holding off the holiday humdrums and ho-hums Published Nov. 25, 2015 By Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Sammy Tucker Tinker Chapel TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- So much to do and not enough time. Too many places to go. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do feeling alone and left out. Any of these statements resonate with you? The holiday season is in full throttle and flying high. Yet, we all can experience the holidays in different ways. Some are excited. Some are sad. Some are angry -- hearing Jingle Bells one more time... We get the holiday humdrums and ho-hums. What to do? I conducted a very scientific survey to which seven people responded to my Facebook post posing the question of what to do? One respondent replied, "If you figure it out, let me know." Other comments were: shop, watch all the holiday movies and bake, play with my grandkids and bake cookies, vitamin D supplements because the lack of sunlight gets to me pretty bad after a while/need sun, come south, and finally, remember what it's about. What about you? Maybe some those answers I received will help you. For me, I start by admitting that I love this time of year because I enjoy the decorations and music, and most people are more friendly and kind. But I've been sad about it all in the past. I feel pulled in many directions. All that work to decorate for the season only to take it down in a short while. Do I really want to spend that much money on gifts etc...? Hummm... I ask you to join me to make this holiday season different if you have the humdrums and ho-hums. Here's where I started this year -- the word holiday is just a truncation of "holy day." I know that holy means set apart, different. This time of year is different. I will think about how this time of year invites everyone to be different. To be nicer. To be more loving. To change whatever is needed that makes me humdrum. To reflect on how I can be different during this time but also to carry that difference into the rest of the year. To know that it's not about presents as much as it is about presence. To know that the presence of one person can positively strengthen another's soul. I want to find someone whose spirit I can uplift and make more resilient this year. I know that will strengthen my own spirit and chase those humdrums and ho-hums away.