At the risk of sounding like Scrooge — or the Grinch, depending on your generation — I just can’t be dealing with all this Christmas cheer that has exploded into our lives over the past 48 hours.
It started innocently enough. My sister texted the family WhatsApp group: “Have you seen this year’s John Lewis Christmas ad yet?” I hadn’t. But of course, peer pressure being what it is, I immediately went to Google it.
Big mistake.
Within minutes, I was bawling — proper ugly crying — at my laptop. John Lewis had done it again. But this one hit differently. It reminded me so much of Mam and Dad. They were beautiful dancers, and that’s where I got my own love of dance from. They’d go dancing every week, gliding across the floor like they were made for it.
When Dad died, Mam said the thing she missed most was dancing with him. Years later, while on holiday in the apartment in Turkey, she put on one of their old CDs. One of their favourite songs came on, and she broke down, saying she’d never dance again. Without even thinking, I grabbed her hand and we started waltzing around the living room floor. I may have been a poor substitute for Dad, but seeing her light up as we twirled around was pure magic.
I’d forgotten that moment until I watched that ad. It’s funny how something as small as a Christmas commercial can bring back such a wave of memory, love, and loss all at once.
So, yes — call me Scrooge if you must. But for now, all I can say is: Bah, humbug… and pass the tissues
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