Originally I intended to put up another post within a week or two, but two things caught me up: the usual pressures of teaching--grading papers, sending out reports, planning classes, dealing with bureaucratic nonsense--accompanied by a slipping back into a "down time" of my PTSD cycle. I learned to deal with the former early in my career; I'm still learning to deal with the latter.
Entering the holidays is a tough time for combat-zone veterans. My VA counselor (who was expressing her concern for how I was going to manage it) said that it's a given that these vets more often than not struggle with holidays regardless of how much time has passed. Fortunately, I didn't have go out to do any shopping (my wife tries to steer me away from crowds anyway, and I've made good use of the 'net), and family is too far away to visit. Although I love Midnight Mass, I knew the crowded church would be difficult, so I skipped that. I avoided all the holiday tripe on TV. And I have a family that loves me understands this condition. So I made it through Christmas pretty well--I even enjoyed most of it.
I have been able to take some time to reflect on the holidays in light of my experiences, and so that will be the topic of this (long) post.
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