I don't really hate Christmas. Really.
But I do hate how much it costs me. Not so much in money, though that's a consideration. But in energy, aggravation, moodiness, frustration, and plain old inconvenience. I don't like what meeting the demands of the season turns me into (into what the demands of the season turn me?) I don't do frazzled well. It doesn't look good on me.
I'm going to let go of the "Perfect Gift" myth next time, I swear. More on that another time.
I'm going to make any damned excuse I have to, perhaps even up to breaking a bone, (yes, mine) to stay in my own house next Christmas. My kids have NEVER awakened in their own beds in their lives on Christmas morning. I can't stand that. (This year JJ and the LC and I are staying at a hotel, for Pete's sake.) It makes the whole decorating thing seem really superfluous at my house. Consequently, the tree is never really completely trimmed, the wrapping paper stays out in the den on the extra table, and I don't feel like the holiday is mine. I'm just on loan to other people. I should have moved farther away. It would have solved a lot of problems. Anyone know of a place that pays obscenely well for a puppeteer/script writer? Perhaps in Burkina Faso?
I'm going to quit expecting certain members of the family to behave decently. Like Kay, for instance, who after hearing my 20 second prayer at Thanksgiving, stated at top voice "Hey, we could have eaten half our dinner by now. Everything's cold!" Why do I let that kind of stupidity hack me off regularly? We all know she must have been dropped on her head or something. She always was a wrong'un. I have to let that go. It's too late to return her and get the money back.
I'm going to vow to walk if my mother tries to corner me and ask some probing question like why we only spent $2500 (a horrible exaggeration, don't stroke out) on the Bigun and we spent $2580 on the Little Critter. Or why, when the Bigun is now a full-fledged (how does one go about getting fledged? But I digress) member of the Armed Forces and has therefore acquired medical benefits, I am expected to go into deeper debt to put contact lenses in the girl's eyes because she won't look into the benefit information. I don't recall having them myself after her age until I got married and begged DH for them. And I still go around with the specs a lot of the time.
I'm absolutely going to get the new year off to a better start than the last one. I just have to work myself up to it.
Send chocolate.
UPDATE: Don't send chocolate. I have a ton. I made six (six!) batches of toffee w/chocolate today. I am so over chocolate. I can't even make myself go take my one-and-only-one-after-dinner-chocolate right now. But I do feel all Betty Crocker.
And God bless friends. S, who is mighty good for a girl's ego to begin with since she christened me a Coupon Gu-ress (Guru/Princess) has agreed to come over umpteen times a day and feed, water and walk the pooches. She's saving me a bundle.
I should pay her in toffee.
posted by Fishie @ 11:32 PM
4 Comments:
Oh honey, your Christmas sounds like so many I've had in the past. I hate to admit this, but it's a much more enjoyable holiday now that mom isn't here anymore. (I know how that sounds...I did [and still do] love my mother. I am not an awful person, I promise. Disclaimers all around!)
The truth of the matter is that she stressed me out to no end every.single.holiday. It nearly drove me to an early grave...and I'm pretty sure it had a hand in getting her there, too. :(
So don't let your family get to you. You can love them and still not like them very much. Avoidance is a good strategy, as is wine. Lots of wine.
And know that your friends love you and are here for you if you want to vent after the holidays. I'll stock up on chocolate just for you. :)
I have the exact opposite problem most of the time. We are far enough away from family to be left alone on Christmas.
Not this year but I'll save that for my blog! :-)
I do have an answer for you about the contacts. Unless things have changed very recently, the military only pays for glasses. Their selection of those for active duty is getting better but most people I know still opt for purchasing their own.
Precisely the reason why we stay put at Christmas. Although it does help that we are 4000km from our families.
Merry Christmas, MissFish!
I know *exactly* what you're going through. My in-laws and parents live in the *same town* so we get to visit both families in a whilwind tour of stress each year. I love them, but I really wish we could skip Christmas at the fam's and have it at our place instead. It's just so stressful, but we don't live far enough away to really justify not coming. My husband has suggested we go on a cruise instead next year, which sounds wonderful, but I think we'll hurt too many people's feelings that way.
The funny part is that neither my husband or I ever spent Christmas anywhere but home, so I don't think our parents are fully grasping just how incredibly stressful it is to do this.
Thank you for this post. It made me feel a little less bad for kind of wishing that we could have stayed home.
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