Won't you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending?
WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, show off our favorite pet pics and perhaps share advice. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here. :-)
A few days ago I was muttering to a friend about the mess I'd gotten myself into. For some strange reason, I'd agreed to write ten articles in ten days for Street Prophets. There's a Mexican Catholic tradition - a novena (nine days) of prayer and celebration and candy on the nine nights before Christmas. In the midst of a crazybusy week finishing up stuff at work before heading off to Mexico for eight days, Pastordan dropped me a note. What did I think of the idea of maybe trying to do a written version of Las Posadas on the site?
So I have this great habit. I look around for angels. I see if there's places where they fear to tread, and as soon as I find those areas, I rush in. I said "Sure!" - and then promptly decided to ignore the logistical or time-related issues that would go along with having to write this stuff up. And then there's the whole writing thing. How do you take a tradition that involves wandering around a neighborhood, knocking on doors, thwacking a piñata, and eating fabulous food and render it meaningfully through words?
Not just once, mind you, but nine times. Ten, once I realized that lots of people aren't familiar with the tradition of Las Posadas, so explaining it might be a good idea.
Oh. And of course I remembered that I was on the hook for WYFP tonight. Eleven articles. Ten days. Day job. Child. Life. Pooties. Dear God, what about the pooties???
And then there was this other thing. Christmas. I really don't like Christmas, and other than trying to put on a fairly decent pass at it to keep from burdening Kid Pax with my distaste of it all, I try to keep it at bay. Yet here I was, agreeing to write a whole series of articles about a Christmas tradition.
In a couple of hours, roughly 7:45ish Portland Standard Time (PST), the seventh of nine Posadas will go up. Each night has had a different theme - talking about people or experiences or groups that walk among us, seeking welcome but finding no room at the inn. Some nights I've stayed closer to the tradition than others, "close" being relative and all. Some nights have been easier than others to write. Some nights have been harder for the kid, as it took a few days for me to get into the rhythm and not have them take up time that would've been his otherwise. He's excited about them now, and said earlier this week, "I'm really glad work slowed down and you can write again, Mom. You're a lot happier that way."
When I signed up for tonight's slot months ago, I knew exactly what I'd post. In fact, most of it was written a couple of weeks ago. I have a great rant about how hard this time of year is, how much I dislike Christmas, and how I just Want It All To Be Over. It's painful, it's artificial, and it's just wrong. Bah. Humbug.
But here's the thing. That's just not where I am right now. Have I bought the gifts that I need to have by Tuesday? Nope. Do we have a Christmas tree? Nope. (Nine-month-old pooties + tree = HA!) Have I sent out my cards or cookies to the folks on the Street Prophets card exchange list or my little group of Street Prophets cookie-sharers? Not yet. All of those things could be FPs, and I reserve the right for them to be so decreed in a few days if they remain undone.
I have no clue if the Posadas are anything at all like what Pastordan envisioned when he asked if I'd write them. I don't know if they're like anything I envisioned, 'cause I really didn't have much of a plan. A couple I thought were fairly OK went by pretty quietly; one that I thought was really bad got plenty of comments and also filled my inbox with some very poignant thoughts from people who'd been touched by the words. Guess it's just a matter of slinging them out to the universe and seeing what happens.
I know I didn't envision being changed by writing them, but that seems to be what's happening. My other WYFP post ... maybe next year. We'll see.
So for tonight - my only FP is that there's this other Catholic tradition - Mass. I'm scheduled to be there in 30 minutes, covering for someone who's on vacation. So I'm doing a drive-by WYFP tonight; back in a bit to check in and sling mojo, and will post tonight's Posada at Little Blue.
But enough of all of that. How about you? What's Your F*cking Problem?