Anyway...for the last few years or so I haven't found myself excited for the holidays as I once did. I guess that's to be expected, since I'm getting older (don't remind me...) but for some reason I think it's abnormal for me to be so apathetic. The day of I get more enthusiastic, but then afterwards I fall into what I call my "Winter Funk." Quite simply, I dislike the cold weather and only like to see snow on Christmas (and maybe New Year's) but what usually ends up happening is that here in Pennsylvania we'll have a green Christmas and New Year's, but then we'll get massive amounts of snow from January till April sometimes (anyone else in PA will agree with me)! Once Spring comes, then I start losing that apathy and perk up, till Thanksgiving rolls around and the Winter Funk comes back.
I digress. What I really wanted to talk about is that I get excited buying or making gifts for other people. I haven't really wanted anything special or very specific for the past 5 years, but I do take great pleasure in hunting down gifts for the people I care about. For instance, this year I made my first ever Etsy purchase, and it's a gift for my boyfriend's mother. She's an elementary school teacher, and her favorite book ever is "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott. So, I found a 1915 copy of "Little Women" for sale on Etsy and purchased it. I like to try to put a little bit of thought into my gifts, and I thought that a 96 year-old copy of her favorite book ever would be a nice and thoughtful gift ( I really, really hope she likes it!). The copy I bought also has a nice little inscription in it from 1935:
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| source: Etsy.com |
Being a history lover also, I found this little inscription quite touching. Betty, whoever she was, gifted her copy of "Little Women" to Lois (a niece, friend, neighbor, sister?) during the Great Depression, where (in 1935) people were making less than $6,000.00/year per person (> $16/day). {Note: this is the equivalent to the value of the US Dollar in 2000: source: GDP Depression}
The fact that people would give away quite possibly their most treasured possessions for the sake of another's happiness is a truly beautiful thing.
Now, I'm sure most of you already know about Etsy, but even though I've been drooling over hundreds of items there for months now, the aforementioned copy of "Little Women" was indeed my first purchase from Etsy. I had such a good experience and that means a great deal to me, who is naturally suspicious at first of new things. However, I will definitely be ordering plenty in the coming years from Etsy and it's wonderful community of sellers, artists, and the like.
I've been thinking now for a few months that it would be a good idea if I myself opened up a shop to sell my handmade jewelry, but for right now I'm still on the fence, as funds have been limited and it's been awhile since I last went and bought supplies. I still have quite a bit, but the hours I work (11pm to 8am) make it very difficult to not pass out when I get home from work.
With that being said, I hope that you all have a very Merry Holiday and stay safe, warm, and happy this Holiday season! ^_^
