Most Depressing Day of the Year

[Chocolatl]

I voted for other, because for the past few years Christmas has been the hardest day of the year for me. I love most of it -- spending time with my fiance and his family, the good food, the laughs, gift-giving and gift-receiving, bundling up against the cold.

But it seems Christmas is always a bad news day for me. When I was younger, my parents decided to get divorced on Christmas. Dad put on a happy act for the rest of the day, but Mom just sat on the stairs, chain-smoking and staring vacantly into space. Somehow, that's the mental image I carry in my head every Christmas morning, no matter how happy the present time is.
There are also several family members who are currently in the "this might be my last Christmas" phase of life, so it's always really sobering and depressing when I try to do to the "Merry Christmas!" call only to get news of the latest operations and mishaps, and to be reminded several times that I am not there with them despite the fact that it might, indeed, be their last Christmas.