As I said in my own blog, if Christmas makes you happy, more power to you. There's not enough joy in this world for me to advocate giving up anything that increases the supply. I wish I knew the trick.

I just wish that there were some place for me to escape from the ubiquity of "good cheer." Far too many people on the other side of the fence feel justified in treating me like a freak because I don't enjoy the season. For the record, I know I'm the freak. It's not like I chose to be stressed out and depressed from Thanksgiving to New Year's.

If you wish me a Merry Christmas, I will nod politely and wish you the same. I do hope you have a happy day, a happy season, and a happy life. If you invite me to partake in your yuletide festivities, I will politely decline. It's not until you look me in the eye and say earnestly, "But, it's Christmas," that you're eligible for the first hint of my feelings on the subject. Only if you persist in your prostheletizing will I open up on you with both barrels and tell you where to stick your mistletoe.

I will thank you very much not to parade through my rain.