Holiday White-Noise
(blame the fact Ontario has gone into lockdown again today for this story)
It’s everywhere…. the trees, baubles, cookies, eggnog, images of the Madonna and child, Santa and the elves, presents….
Dolores didn’t even notice it anymore. The tacky, grinding, tinny sounds that started after Hallowe’en and continued till the Epiphany in January.
She had boxes of nonsense in her attic she didn’t even unpack anymore. Lights that stayed strung on her eaves year round. Since the last time…. Dec 2019.
Dolores’ therapist tried to work with her every Christmas, but it still hadn’t changed anything. She was in a blizzard of meaningless noise from Hallowe’en to Epiphany in January.
They both knew why. No amount of understanding fixed the people who had been lost needlessly. No amount of fixing would prevent the negligence of those who could do something to prevent deaths that were sure to come, and did nothing. Two years in and people were still not revolting against the politicians who put economy over people. People should be revolting, when so many were in food lines, and so many were now houseless. Why weren’t they revolting?
What was left to do? What could Dolores do?
She put on her boots, gathered the food and meds they’d need for the next month. Made sure they had Tylenol and cough syrup in the house and lots of TP and tissue stored ready.
And some candles to light on her mantle. In memorium. And because there was a child to consider, she picked up stocking stuffers for her.
The household would gather. For her. And sing along to the carols they knew by rote, and the silly stories about Santa and the reindeer. And cheer for just one minute when they looked at her sweet face.
For her, they’d get thru these next few weeks. Wondering if there would ever be an end to this white noise.
mspeachierocks 