Two days ago I went into one of those big home improvement stores and I was shocked to see aisles and aisles of Christmas decorations — right in front for everyone to see. This was October 16th — a full two weeks before Halloween. 

It’s no secret — I let Twitter know how much I hate Christmas yesterday. It is my least favorite time of year. The gaudy decorations. The stress of buying presents. Having to socialize. It’s definitely not for me.

Christmas would be more tolerable if it was only one day, but no! It has to last for two goddamn months!

Okay. I’m done bitching.

My husband and I really only celebrate Christmas because the rest of our family does, but we keep it secular. Yes to Santa, no to Jesus.

What about Halloween? My husband and daughter love Halloween! Please don’t skip over it! We picked out our costumes and we have decorations all over our yard. 

Since the beginning of September, we’ve gone to the Spirit Halloween store every Thursday after my daughter’s swimming lesson. It’s a treat for her that she looks forward to. 

Trick-or-Treat is really quite the event in our neighborhood. I think our neighbors try to outdo each other every year when it comes to decorations. There are lights and sounds up and down the streets. And so many kids! I didn’t know we had so many kids in our neighborhood! Where did they all come from? 

It’s a lot of fun.

And then there’s Thanksgiving. That’s my favorite! It’s a little less pressure and we all get to enjoy my dad’s fabulous cooking! No spirits. No ghosts. No Jesus. Just a glorious secular feast. 

So what do holidays look like for you? Do you hate Christmas as much as I do or do you get into the spirit of the season? Does your family keep it secular? I am writing this post from the viewpoint of an American from a Christian family. Fill me in if you have other holidays that you celebrate!

Just curious. How often does your atheism come up in your daily life? Do you talk about it? Do others ask you about it? 

Prior to my book being released, I was in the closet. My family and close friends knew I was an atheist, but that’s about it. I would even let people assume I was a Christian — whatever got me through the day safely. 

Now my book is out there for the world to see and I’m no longer hiding. 

I’m more open, but to my surprise, it doesn’t really come up that often. Even some of my coworkers know about my book — still nothing. 

In the past few months since my book was released, no one has debated me. No one has invited me to church. No one has told me I’m going to burn in hell.

I was expecting some serious opposition, but to my pleasant surprise, it just hasn’t happened. 

Don’t get me wrong, there’s still some fear there and I definitely don’t go looking for trouble. 

But just maybe things will be okay.

How about you? Do people talk to you about being an atheist? Does it come up in your daily life?

This past Sunday I was a guest presenter for the Humanist Association of San Diego’s Sunday Zoom meeting on humanism and poetry. I always get so nervous about these things but this one I really enjoyed. I read some poems from my book and other members of the group shared their poems as well. Here is the video from the meeting:

I belong to an amazing group on Facebook called “Chill AF Atheist Women”. It is so nice to interact with a group of progressive, like-minded women. Their posts go from heartbreaking to hilarious and everything in between. It’s a good place to go for advice and you can’t usually say that about the internet. I love being a part of this group. 

Anyway, not too long ago in this group, I saw this question asked — “Can you be an atheist and also believe in ghosts?” To my surprise, not only did many of the women believe in ghosts, some had had first-hand paranormal experiences.

I have strong feelings about this topic. Many of you know I have schizoaffective disorder. I was diagnosed at 21 and today live a very normal life thanks to medication. Before treatment, I had visual and auditory hallucinations that I referred to as “ghosts”. I would believe that places were haunted and that people were possessed. It was a whole new world for me when antipsychotic medication stopped my hallucinations. 

Today I don’t believe in the paranormal. I think there’s an earthly explanation for everything. I don’t doubt people have experiences; I just think there must be explanations — even if we don’t have that explanation yet. 

Also, sometimes I think believing in ghosts is admitting people have souls, and I don’t believe in that either. 

So what do you think? Can you believe in the paranormal as an atheist? Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

I had an appointment with my psychiatrist yesterday and he is always full of stories and knowledge of current events. My three-month med check-ups are always interesting. Yesterday he informed me that Harvard has hired an atheist chaplain.

How does that work?

My psychiatrist explained that it’s possible to be an atheist and also spiritual.

I don’t consider myself spiritual but maybe spirituality has a different meaning to everyone. I guess if I had to define it, I would say spirituality is feeling connected to nature and the world around you.

What do you say? Does spirituality require a higher power? Are you spiritual? What does that look like for you?

Here is an update on my upcoming speaking engagements:

Sept. 26
Humanist Alliance of San Diego (online)

Oct. 9
Western Lake Erie Humanists (Toledo)

Oct. 10
Washington Area Secular Humanists (online)

Oct. 24
Humanist Alliance of Silicon Valley (online)

Nov. 14
Eastern Shore Humanists (online)

 

I have met so many wonderful people while promoting my book. If your group is up for a little atheist poetry, contact me! I would love to meet you, too!

My poetry book gives an atheist perspective on being a Midwest Mom. It is for sale on my publisher’s site freethoughthouse.com, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. (Signed copies are available at freethoughthouse.com.)