Holiday Happiness?

Christmastime. People seem to either love it or hate it. I'm one of those people that has always been generally joyful around the time of Christmas and New Years. It's a time for me to see my family, give and receive gifts, relax, and wallow in my nostalgia.

It hurts me, though, to see so many other people that can't stand the holidays. They either feel completely stressed out because of traffic on the road and in the stores, grumpy and Scrooge-like because giving of gifts is nothing but needlessly throwing money away, lonely because no one is (seemingly?) there with which to share the joy of the season, or something like that.

Whether their reasons are justified or just a baseless by-product of the seasonal atmosphere, I wish I could infect them with my own happiness.

I am in Texas with my family. I have graduated from Virginia Tech after way too many long, hard semesters. I will be spending time with my girlfriend in less than a week. I don't have school to go back to. I have freedom. For the time being, I can sleep in. I have coffee. I have beer. I have good food. I have people that love me. I have happiness.

My girlfriend is feeling gloomy for no reason that she can figure out. I want her to feel the same happiness that I do. I want her to be comforted. I want to see her smile.