Festive Hostilities
The Works of Mark Edgemon from All-Creatures.org

Mark Edgemon has been writing for 30 years. He writes and publishes short stories, articles, poetry and scripts, as well as, produces audio comedy productions for over 700 radio stations nationwide.

Contact Mark through his website, Creator and the Catalyst.

Festive Hostilities

Mike’s holidays were filled with yearly traditions at his parent’s home. He grew up with many unique experiences that were reminiscent of the holiday season. His parents celebrated Christmas in a way that made a lasting impression on him. Things like Christmas present throwing and stomping them on the floor in a holiday spite fest. His mother hurrying to cook Christmas dinner, so his dad could gobble down his plate of food in 3 minutes or less and then retire to bed to sleep the meal off. Another remembrance was everyone ripping the wrappings off the presents to see how fast each of them could pile up their loot, so his mother could complain about having to clean up the floor.

Yes Christmas was a stressful time in Mike’s house, almost as stressful as any of their birthdays or anniversaries or Easter or Halloween or like any given weekday or every weekend…you get the picture. Stress was a key component in their lives, which brought about the other key component…spite. Spiteful words and actions was commonplace in their lives and the house was always filled with tension.

They went to church, which gave them another thing to be stressful about. The arguments, the lectures, the never giving Mike anything without saying first, “I’ll give you this on one condition,” the condition always changing from one thing to another. And yet this was normal for this family. They loved each other, but from a distance.

Mike went to college, got married and lived his life his own way, but was still influenced by his upbringing. But over the years, he moved away from the components of his childhood and established his own quieter more gentle way of living with only an occasional flare up of spite coming in here or there when he wasn’t prepared for it.

He loved his parents, but it was time he made his own way through the world, without the needless distraction of stress related behavior that afflicted his relatives. After all, sinful behavior wasn’t inherited…it was a choice!

Copyright © 2008 Mark Edgemon

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