The Rural Voice, 2003-12, Page 27time, there are steps you can take to
lighten the load and make Christmas
more enjoyable.
If you want to relieve the stress
that'S heightened at Christmas time
"simplicity" is the key word, Del
Bianco says.
Christmas ups the ante of normal
stress, because people expect so
much of it — and not just in terms of
gifts. The pressure comes from the
whole baggage that comes with the
way perfect Christmases are
portrayed in the media.
"At Christmas we're supposed to
be a family," Del Bianco says.
"We're supposed to have a closeness
to all our family members, even if we
don't like some of our relatives at
other times of the year."
Societal pressures about the
perfect Christmas create high
expectations of the way the
holidays should be the counsellor
says.
"We're all commanded to have
peace on earth, even if we don't feel
it," says Del Bianco.
In counselling people at Christmas .
he tries to help them keep proper
boundaries on their lives, he says. He
asks people to sit down and write
down on paper what they want
Christmas to be. "What do you value
about Christmas?" He asks people to
define the kind of Christmas they
want rather than trying to react to
what they think Christmas k
supposed to be.
Part of the problem, he says, is
that Christmas is like a wedding: it's
something you plan for weeks and
it's over in an hour. People worry
and fret about buying and wrapping
"perfect" Christmas presents and
within a few minutes of opening, it's
all over.
One of the things his family has
done is to slow the process down,
Del Bianco says. Under the tree may
be only two or three gifts each. But
the wrapped boxes are not the real
present: they just hold the first clue
in a hunt for the real present. That
clue leads to another and that to
another and so on. One of the clues
may lead you to a neighbour's house
for the next clue, he says, and that
leads you to visit with your
neighbour before you go on to find
the gift.
Gifts are an area of great stress,
SPRUCEDALE AGROMART
HANOVER
519-364-4070
— Fertilizers
— Seeds & Farm Supplies
- Custom Application
- Agricultural Herbicides
At this holiday season, it is time to say
`Ihank]'ou and to express to our
customers, old and new, best wishes
for a Merry Christmas season and a
successful New Year
- from the management and staff of
Spnicedale Agromart.
TARA
519-934-2340
"Serving the farmers of Grey and Bruce for over 20 years"
HELP FOR ONTARIO FARMERS IN CRISIS
Queen's Bush Rural Ministries
Provides - a free confidential service
to listen and offer a network
of helpful contacts.
. x`•77
Call Collect 1-519-369-6774
My staff andfamily join me in wishing you
the best of the holiday season
May the spirit of peace and hope touch you.
BILL MURDOCH, MPP
Bruce -Grey -Owen Sound
Constituency Office
1047 2nd Avenue East
Owen Sound, Ontario
(519)371-2421
Please contact my office if you would like to receive my 2004 calendar.
DECEMBER 2003 23