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When I was a little girl, my parents took me to see the Christmas decorations on the streets which, in addition to twinkling lights and decorated trees, also included a small crowd of Santa Clauses. Nothing special, a prosaic family activity that my older sister loved, as did most children. Most, but not me.

The memories I have of that first encounter with the street Santas are one of those blurred memories we have of events from our early childhood, but the impact that the experience had on me was so strong that I can still feel it vividly today, and I can only describe it as fear and amazement.

Fear because they were obviously impostors, trying to pass themselves off as the real Santa Claus. and amazement because the adults seemed not to realize that, if there was a Santa Claus on every corner, they could only be copies of the real one, the true Santa, who would never stay on the sidewalk shouting out promotions for a shoe shop.

To make things even worse, they insisted that I should sit on the lap of one of the fakeSantas and have a picture taken! Were adults really that stupid? Apparently, yes.

If the adults who were supposed to protect me seemed not to realize the danger (who were those men in red with fake beards, anyway?), then it was up to me to get out of that situation. I was alone in my mission to unmask the fraudsters and I resisted bravely, fighting with the weapons I had at the time, crying and probably kicking a bit, too. It had some effect, I guess. At least, not a single photo with Santa Claus. And, by the way, I also learned not to trust people who pretend to be what they are not.

You might think that I was a very suspicious little girl and that I did not experience the magic of Christmas, but I prefer to believe that I was, in fact, a very smart little girl, who was not easily fooled and had an admirable sense of survival.

I certainly did not doubt the existence Santa Claus, quite the opposite, but my Santa Claus, the one who inhabited my mind and heart as a child, was a transcendental, powerful being, and he did not even remotely resemble those poorly made copies that were certainly not the responsible ones for the presents I found under the Christmas tree in the living room on the morning of the 25th.

Probably many other kids have cried the first time the met a street Santa or questioned the profusion of Santa Clauses on the streets, I was just more determined than average and did not give in.

This Christmas, I wish you the determination of that little girl and the discernment to distinguish the true magic of Christmas, the one you cannot explain but feel deep in your heart, from the false promises and the meaningless “ho-ho-hos”.

Merry Christmas.

Be seeing you!

G. F.

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I haven’t been here in over four months (wow!), and there were many reasons for this long absence: screen fatigue, overwork, and even a slight feeling that there was not much to tell, no really interesting adventures to share. But today is my birthday and I decided to start the new trip around the Sun with a new post because, well, because they say that the things we do on our birthday have a lot of power, so why not give the universe a little help, right?

Besides, even though the day is barely half over, I have already accumulated so many lessons that, at the rate things are going, I will not be able to absorb them all byalone, so I would like to share the top three with you, my loyal reader. Ready?

Lesson #1: It does not matter how prepared you are: on your birthday, the probability of something not being to your liking is approximately 100% with no margin of error.

Unfortunately, and much to my displeasure, the universe does not stop to celebrate my birthday (or yours), so there must be some room for adaptation. The challenge is to readapt the route without losing the way.

Lessom #2: Who said one day can ruin a year? This one serves more or less as compensation for the first one. Even if your birthday starts off on the wrong foot, who says that this is a sign that things won’t go well in the next 365 days?

This morning, for example, I was interrupted while taking a shower, and then again when I was about to start my breakfast. The reasons for the interruptions were noble, but it is no fun to drink bad coffee with burnt bread on any day of the year. But instead of seeing this as a sign that things will not go well in the next twelve months, I prefer to think that, on the contrary, by exhausting unpleasant situations right at the beginning of the first day, things can only go very well from now on. It is like doing an annual spring cleaning.

Lessom #3: Do not get lost in melancholic daydreams about what happened. Today is the day to congratulate yourself on the path you have traveled so far, and focus on what is to come.The way I see it, each year lived represents an achievement, after all, living is not exactly an easy task and yet here we are, alive. Who knows how, who knows at what price, but alive. And about to begin another cycle. It is no small feat. Cross the threshold and celebrate yourself.

I know that certain days, and not just birthdays (perhaps for you it’s the changing of the seasons, or the end of the year) have the power to cause us very strong and not always pleasant feelings. Days in which emotions are on the surface and every action or thought takes on much greater contours than usual. Do not let yourself get too carried away, these moments will pass.

The beauty and irony of life is that both good days and bad days have the same amount of hours.

And, a last word, a bonus, if you will: if possible, listen to some tango music. No birthday personal drama resists to tango: they all turn, magically, into beuaty and passion. I strongly recomed Piazzolla for better results..

Be seeing you!

G. F.