If you're not up for whining, I understand completely. I'm not the most sympathetic liberal. But, if you want a sob story from someone getting something off his chest...
I don't believe in god...gave up on it a long time ago after struggling with it for years. It just never made sense to me. Attendant with that was Christmas because I came from a very Christian family so the holiday always had religious significance (what with a minister father who was always out in front of the church leading the ceremonies). Four years ago, Christmas took on a new meaning, though, after getting married earlier in the year. It took on even more meaning two years ago with the birth of our child.
Now, though, in 2005, I am mourning Christmas and hoping that next year will be better. I am living on the floor of a friend's place in the US while my wife and child are still in Kiev awaiting word that I have found a job. We had hoped to plant our future over there but Yuschenko turned out to be as much a rat as any of the numerous dictators who have rolled through Ukraine through the ages. So, after expending savings and coming to the realization that even a majority of the Americans in Kiev are corrupt as hell, we decided we had better come back to the US while our reputations were still intact.
I didn't want the baby living out of suitcases while I did the job search since we didn't know where the job would be and I didn't want to subject my wife to my parents for the period of time we figured it would take for me to find something. Now, my little boy goes to the park in Kiev and cries for no apparent reason and runs after guys who may look like me screaming, "Papa!" My wife wants us to be a family again but I have no home for them. I still haven't found anything, in spite of all the news in Sept. and Oct. that this fall was supposed to be a good season for MBA hiring.
And, all I want now is to know that next Christmas will not be as empty as this one.