Tis the season to be merry. Joy to the world. Right?
Right?! Okay, let’s be real. I’ve always loved Christmas. I’ve been one of
those annoying people who starts listening to Christmas music before the
jack-o-lanterns rot. My husband and I have a friendly debate about it every
year. When I was a kid, Christmas meant Hallmark movies, picking out the best
tree on the lot, eggnog, and circling creepy dolls in catalogs. For us, it
first and foremost means hearing the story of Jesus’s birth.
As an adult, I was excited to carry on Christmas
traditions, my favorite of which is hosting Christmas Eve. My best childhood
memories include sitting around with cousins, eating too much, and having a
“surprise” visit from “Santa” aka my dad, parents clapping hands over the
mouths of older kids who tried to declare that was just Uncle Don. Damn those
older kids, ruining the magic for everyone. That happens, though, doesn’t it?
We lose the magic. Joy to the world becomes stress to the world. Tis the season
to be crazy.
It’s fun to decorate with my kids, showing them
decorations that date back to my grandma. I love seeing them count down the
days until Christmas and picking out the gifts. We still host Christmas Eve,
though we can’t get anyone to play Santa anymore. I’ve tried soliciting some of
my neighbors, but they’re all mysteriously busy on Christmas Eve. Weird. Most
of the kids have outgrown the belief. Hopefully, I still have a few years with
my six-year-old.
Where am I going with this? Here’s the thing. Every
single year I, like every other adult, jump on a hamster wheel while the Thanksgiving
dishes soak and fall off, exhausted, somewhere around January 15th.
I’m a straight up Scrooge by December 25th. Every year I
tell myself this year I’ll let go of
the stress and really enjoy this season instead of it being a whirlwind. I’ll
focus on what really matters and let the rest go. Yet every year the messages
come in. OMG, 27 shopping days left! Amazon delivery is behind! What does
everyone want for Christmas? Hurry, decorate! Make cookies! Watch all the
Christmas movies in my abundant free time! Go to everyone’s holiday party! An
introvert’s dream!
By the time the wrapping paper I inevitably spend all
night Christmas Eve securing around gifts is strewn across the living room and
my kids are arguing about whether or not it can be recycled I’m left feeling….
empty. I doubt I’m alone. Holidays are hard for a lot of people, and not just because
of the added to-dos. This past week my pastor was talking about keeping the
Sabbath. In his typical gentle/challenging way, he said, “Don’t raise your
hands, but how many of you remember when you’ve last actually rested on the
seventh day? Left the dishes in the sink? They’ll still be there Monday. Are
you waiting until after the Christmas season to keep the Sabbath?”
Now, he said this to a group of women, so you can imagine
the response. I heard someone say, “I wish he’d tell my boss I need a day off!”
His point was, why do we think we have to do it all, and we’re the only ones
who can? Well, I have an answer: expectations.
Whether we get it from our families, Facebook, our kids,
or our own internal pressures, we all have a running list of what we should be
doing. We feel like if we don’t do all the holiday things we are somehow
failing. Actually, when we do all the things we get less out of the season, or
at least that’s true for me. So, a few years ago I decided to let some
Christmas tasks go for my own sanity. Let me tell you, it was a big deal, but
I’m still on that hamster wheel. I have to figure out what other corners I can
cut.
How do you keep from
going crazy during the holidays? Please, please share! Unless your answer is,
“I love doing all the things; it just takes a little organization, that’s all!”
If that’s your answer, please return to the Hallmark movie from which you
escaped and let me know which one it is, so I can make sure it never shows up
on my DVR. Thanks.
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