Letters Michael Anderson Elizabeth Atkinson Carol Dragun Emily Dunn Rachel Geller-Kaplan Doris Haas Beth K. Hoffman The Kiefer family Laura Nalesnik Michelle R. St. James Joanne Smith Janice Snoke Kathleen A. Vickery Helen Watson-Felt Agnes Wiggin Excerpts Out with the gals Lights! The great outdoors Shopping It's showtime Spreading the spirit Going to town On the tree trail Return to the main feature Weekly Health | Science (Mon.) Food (Wed.) Calendar (Thu.) At Home (Thu.) Picture This (Fri.) Sunday Automotive Cape & Islands Focus Learning Magazine New England Real Estate Travel City Weekly South Weekly West Weekly North Weekly NorthWest Weekly NH Weekly Features Archives Book Reviews Columns Comics Crossword Horoscopes Death Notices Lottery Movie Reviews Music Reviews Obituaries Today's stories A-Z TV & Radio Weather Classifieds Autos Classifieds Help Wanted Real Estate Help Contact the Globe Send us feedback Alternative views Low-graphics version Acrobat version (.pdf) Search the Globe: Today Yesterday Search the Web Using Lycos:

The perfect stress stopper One of my favorite holiday traditions is one that I do alone, on purpose. After browsing through the newspaper, I find a church that is holding a Christmas concert on a Sunday afternoon or evening that is convenient. Any church will do. It's an escape from the hectic pace of the commercialized world. I sit quietly and listen to holiday songs that bring home the meaning of Christmas for me, such as "Silent Night" or "Away in a Manger." This pause in the middle of the season is the perfect antidote for my mounting holiday stress. There are no obligations or demands here. I don't have to make cocktail party chitchat. I don't have to bake a thing. All I have to do is show up. On the way home, I take the scenic route and enjoy the varied displays of decorations and lights. By the time I reach home I'm refreshed, recharged, and ready to join the frenzy again. LAURA NALESNIK Wellesley

	© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company	Extending our newspaper services to the web	Return to the home page of The Globe Online