That being said, time as reporter, as I have learned, is quite limited. And that includes the holidays. During the holiday season, reporters must make sacrifices: they must choose which holiday they'll be willing to work in exchange for getting off for others. As a Jewish reporter, my sacrifices are less severe. How do I mean? Well, I don't celebrate Christmas. And being that I work in a small bureau alongside one other reporter, who is Christian and celebrates the holiday, I thought it was only fair to let him have the day off to be with his family.
So I worked 6 days this week, including Christmas Eve day and Christmas. (That meant no work over Thanksgiving or New Year's for me.) The work was easy. During the holidays, the stories are light, fluffy, happy, and easy to write and report on. But I'm not going to lie and say I didn't spend most of my shift thinking about all the families and young children who were at home, curled up near a Christmas tree unwrapping gifts.
No, I do not celebrate Christmas. Chanukah is my holiday, and that passed a few weeks ago. But like anyone else, I enjoy Christmas movies, the music, and the overall holiday spirit that comes along with December 25th. And that being said, it was difficult to work through the day. Not to mention being without my own Christmas family tradition: Chinese food and a movie with my family.
In addition to working on my story, I spent the day sending text messages and making phone calls to my friends celebrating the day. I took one for the team. I am not writing this post to complain, but I wanted to make note that even though, the world stops for most people on major holidays, it does not stop for us reporters.
So I worked. I had fun. I put together a nice story, and met some great people today. And maybe next year, I'll get off for Christmas and work another holiday. Maybe not. But that's what it's all about, people: making sacrifices and sending holiday cheer to the ones you love.
Merry Christmas :)
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