somedays i love the holiday season. christmas music in every corner. having an excuse to bake until 1 am and give away treats (that people obligingly have to accept whether or not they want it). during the cold winter months, i’m allowed to make soup every other night without it being frowned upon. and scrambling eggs in a coffee mug in the microwave on high for a minute? completely acceptable.
yet when it comes to the socializing schizophrenia, i’m not quite sure i’m ever prepared.
this statement is not made in relation to my friends. on the contrary, my friends have nothing to do with my hectic holiday nature nor the “prepackaged parties” that i so despise. it is the whole nature of christmas that concerns me outside of meeting with long lost friends and mild acquaintances.
society just seems to speed up even faster for christmas. it’s the holiday rush–hectic and ever crowded. you wait in line to get that last marked down sale. you wait until the last-minute to buy gifts. not because you didn’t have time before, but because that’s when the prices are the best. you rush from grandparents to parents to friends to siblings’ houses and expect to be treated with smiles and kindness each time. sometimes they’ll be a whole christmas meal three times a day– because you know that each sect of family wants it to be just as special.
then there’s the obligatory parties you have to attend. whether it’s for the office or for the family, parties are full of lack luster conversation and political small talk. questions constantly buzzing in your head: am i allowed to state my political belief? should i talk about my promotion? (in my case) do i talk about how much i actually love my academics at university?
and people wonder why we gain five to ten pounds over the winter break/holiday season.
it’s completely stress related eating!
consumption of food during the holidays correlates with our rushing about needing to find all the key ingredients for a meal that’s going to overtake our fridges for the next month and that isn’t made with the healthiest ingredients because we don’t want to spend more than we have to on food because we overspent our gift-giving budget (again) and we just know that the great value butter/sugar/flour is the same as everything else right?
did the long sentence (or nonsentence) give a little bit of perspective?
as for me, i’m sitting here eating an apple. typing away instead of checking my email. i’ll make eggs in the microwave or heat up soup. i’m too lazy to cook a real lunch. hopefully, i’ll work out; read a novel; and get some christmas presents wrapped. if i’m lucky, i’ll even deliver one BEFORE christmas. that’d be a good start. and then i’ll nap, eat take away dinner, and wrap more presents. it sounds less hectic than it will be.
…………………………………………………….and in the end, isn’t that how it should sound?
too much life 