Holiday Bonus - Dear Mrs. Claus

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Dear Mrs. Claus,

Merry Christmas. I hope this finds you well, relaxing after what was hopefully a rewarding and successful, if not stressful, season for you and the rest of the team up at the north pole. The effort that goes into such an international organization is likely immeasurable. I imagine much happens behind the scenes to not only keep production running smoothly but also current, inclusive and accommodating at a time when much of the world struggles with this on smaller scales.

I’m not sure if you get many letters addressed directly to you with people all over the world writing to your famed husband (though feel free to pass along a thank you from me to him for the socks). I could be wrong, but it seems there aren’t very many other women in and around the workshop. And if there are, then we see and hear of them less - like elsewhere in the world, their important contribution seems less recognized. Although I am appreciative of the gifts, magic and even hope that Santa, the elves and reindeer have brought to many, what I am hoping for this Christmas is something that likely only another woman can truly empathize with.

Like many, I find myself going through a challenging time in life. I don’t look forward to 2019 with hopes and dreams, but with uncertainty and trepidation. For three and a half years I have tried really hard to be self-sufficient, to pick myself back up, to persevere through this illness and resulting disability. And in that time, although I have had support, I have also been talked down to, walked over and discriminated against. I am at a disadvantage and I am seeing more and more every year that this disadvantage has come second in the form of the disability, but first in the form of inequity for women. And every year my resilience seems to wane as the slow and moderate improvements in my health have not been enough to counteract the quick consumption of my financial funds, nor the challenge of navigating support systems.

If my situation doesn’t improve early in 2019, I will be at a complete loss.

I am grateful for my friends, family and the support systems I do have in place. Without these, I would already be at rock bottom, at the best. For a long time I have believed that things will work out, that I will find my way through, that I am talented and skilled and therefore something is bound to resolve for me. But it’s been one year of holding that belief and I am still without a sufficient job or earnings. The hope of being able to support myself is no longer enough.

Hope does not pay my bills. Hope does not solve the urgent issues of disadvantaged people everywhere.

So for Christmas this year, what I want is for the inequity gap to close. I want the strength to rise up when being talked down to, the power to stand when being walked over and the authority to stop discrimination in its tracks. What I want is to be listened to, valued, respected, supported and truly recognized for what I can offer this world. In other words, I want a fair shot and a real chance to take care of myself, earn a stable income and support my health.

I know this is a big ask. It’s bigger than any one person, including one with a belly like a bowl full of jelly. But I have to start somewhere. People in or working with positions and organizations of power, whether that’s C-level millionaires or every day people in local communities who have opinions and voices that others listen to, have a real opportunity to give this gift. And you are a part of that.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I wish you the best for the rest of your holidays and to everyone everywhere a prosperous new year.

Here’s to more than hoping that next year I can write you a letter simply asking for a pair of socks.

- Krystal

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Cheers to all, thank you for reading :)