Anyone else spending Christmas alone?

grandmma wrote: But what saddens me about this, and many other things - and it seems to be more and more prevalent lately - is the lack of care and thoughtfulness shown by others. Sure, from one (their) viewpoint, your allergy is YOUR problem, not theirs. You deal, take your medication, 'get over it', whatever is required.

From another viewpoint, it is callous of your family and friends not to have considered this. Allergies aren't fun, can be potentially deadly, and we don't take them lightly, which non-allergenic people seem to feel should be the case. Where's the consideration for others that used to be shown? The fact that you actually had to leave the celebration should have woken people up the fact that they were effectively choosing the animals over you. In my world, not the way I'd have gone!

BlackSpinner wrote:For me it is perfumes that drive me up the wall at work. Totally useless in the office, why do you have to stink up the entire floor? Really, nobody wants to smell you before you arrive. All natural? yeah so is poison ivy, why don't you go and roll in that! My eyes water, I sneeze then I start to choke and I can't think clearly.

grandmma wrote:Hi Jaylee, I'm sorry to hear of your Christmas "woes", and that you spent the day (ultimately) alone. That in itself however is not bad, as others have said, you can enjoy that sometimes, especially if you've normally a very busy life.

But what saddens me about this, and many other things - and it seems to be more and more prevalent lately - is the lack of care and thoughtfulness shown by others. Sure, from one (their) viewpoint, your allergy is YOUR problem, not theirs. You deal, take your medication, 'get over it', whatever is required.

From another viewpoint, it is callous of your family and friends not to have considered this. Allergies aren't fun, can be potentially deadly, and we don't take them lightly, which non-allergenic people seem to feel should be the case. Where's the consideration for others that used to be shown? The fact that you actually had to leave the celebration should have woken people up the fact that they were effectively choosing the animals over you. In my world, not the way I'd have gone!

My daughter-in-law is potentially fatally allergic to garlic. We don't judge her for this, don't blithely go on as if she's just grandstanding or attention-seeking, and we certainly don't cook anything with garlic in it - in fact, I no longer have it in the house. That's just the way it is, and should be. Occasionally I'll accidentally buy something containing garlic, which will exclude her from that dish or meal, but it is certainly not intentional, and she knows this. She does not ask for special consideration, quite the opposite in fact.

Jaylee, I hope you ultimately had a lovely day, and enjoyed the unexpected solitude!

gasp wrote:Your daughter is so blessed having a mom that would put her first!

....took a long time to understand the subtleties of airborne allergens

grandmma wrote:

gasp wrote:Your daughter is so blessed having a mom that would put her first!

Gasp, I must admit I remember now my ex-husband was and is not so supportive, however. Sadly, the kids don't see him that much, so on the plus side it's not as big a big deal as it could otherwise be. But he's never had allergies. He could never understand my hay fever, and would constantly use very heavily scented spray deodorant, which would set me up for a bad day right from the get go. Don't miss that! He's also not so understanding of her garlic issues, and seemed to deliberately challenge or ignore this when providing a meal. His family are similar - if they've not experienced it, likely it does not exist. Mine are very different, thank heavens, and accept people for both who they are, and for what issues they may face, whether we've experienced it ourselves or not.

As I said, my ex is not around much, and above indicates one of the reasons why, I guess.

It is a shame you had to even use a metaphor to explain your allergies, although it sounds like your family are more accepting now -

....took a long time to understand the subtleties of airborne allergens

Someone once did tell me that the meaning of the word "family" is "disfunctional"!!

Spirit wrote:Hi,
I spent Christmas alone, but wanted to share that I'm allergic to everything, especially dogs. Now the ironic thing is, a friend of mine was giving away a German Shepherd puppy, and I alway's wanted one, so I took her in. She sheds hair everywhere, and my allegies went into overdrive, stuffy nose, difficulty breathing, itchy eyes, etc.... took my allergies meds, and thought maybe this is not such a good idea.

Well growing with her, I couldn't give her away, so I kept her. The amazing thing is, I'm no longer allergic to her. Think my body built up an immune system, to protect me from her. So being exposed to her all the time, basically got rid of dog alleriges. I don't have to take meds.

Now I can cuddle and play with her without sneezing !! But dog's make wonderful companions for those that live alone.

Paul56 wrote:I suppose I'm a New Year's "cranky" because I don't see the point of a huge celebration for the New Year. So, it is another year... big deal... ho hum.

paul56 wrote:Mom and I discussed this years Christmas celebration and have come to the conclusion that neither one of us are fans of turkey and so the only reason we prepare a turkey is tradition. Preparing that turkey is a huge job... next year we may do steaks on the grill instead and save all the work.

DreamOn wrote:I'm just grateful to still be alive to see each New Year, so that's celebration enough for me!

Paul56 wrote:...Mom and I discussed this years Christmas celebration and have come to the conclusion that neither one of us are fans of turkey and so the only reason we prepare a turkey is tradition. Preparing that turkey is a huge job... next year we may do steaks on the grill instead and save all the work.