I am not sure how you feel about the holidays, but I love them. Some people hate the hustle and bustle; complain about the weather and the line ups or just the commercialization of the whole season. I, on the other hand, love chatting in the long line ups, having to take time to get from here to there in the snow and I enjoy the events and concerts that usually come to schools and churches this time of year.
I grew up in a small community as part of a small family and the holidays weren't about big parties and big spending, but about family time and enjoying things such as snowmobiling, visiting friends and indulging in foods no healthy adult should eat.
As I remember fondly my time as a child and now an adult, I am quickly brought to a different reality for the youth I work with every day.
It's a different holiday here at the club than what I celebrate at home. Children are still children of course, but what they wish for during the holidays is different from what I would dream of.
My first year working at the Boys and Girls Club, I learned much about different lifestyles. We were lucky to have some older children still attending programming, and they taught me much about their lives, how they looked at the future and what held importance to them. Christmas was no different.
First I approached the subject the same as I did with most children; "What are you asking Santa for this year?" The response I received was, "Are you kidding?"
One young girl told me that Santa doesn't exist and he would never come to her house if he did because her family were in and out of jail so much there wouldn't be anyone on the "nice" list.
The other youth said she always asked for something, but kept the item small, not the price but the actual size of the item. This intrigued me, so I probed a little further, there had to be a reason. She explained that Christmas Day meant lots of family, joy and alcohol at her house. The day was always exciting and the family had lots of love for each other. That was, of course, until they had consumed too much alcohol and fighting and yelling would commence. This young girl was very sombre as she described her "traditions."
Once the late afternoon came she and the other children in the home would leave to "get away" from the fighting and choose to stay at an auntie's house or a friend's house until the family left her home. Unfortunately this generally took a few days and by the time she would return, some family members had taken most of the Christmas gifts to the pawn shops to exchange for more drinking money.
This girl must have seen the look of shock on my face as her story went on. She quickly perked up and smiled and said. "That's why you learn real young to ask for small things they fit in your pockets when you are leaving!" So, that year her request was for earrings and an MP3 player.
We are all aware there are families in need this time of year; children who do not get a visit from Santa, families that cannot afford Christmas dinner and homeless people who will not have family to visit. There are many charities and good causes in the Battlefords that are there to help these people. Unfortunately we have people who do not identify themselves as in need.
At the Battlefords Boys and Girls Club we host a Christmas dinner for all of our members and their families, every child gets a gift and then they get to share and play with their friends.
This is our Christmas tradition and it is continuing because of the generosity of people in our community. Even during the holidays the Boys and Girls Club is a good place to be!
