Category Archives: Holiday

Jan5

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Just Say No to Holiday Shaming

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IMG_1306 - Version 2(I carve the same face in my Jack O’ Lantern every year)

Yes, the holidays are over and one of the reasons you haven’t heard from me lately is that I’ve been busy enjoying as perfect a holiday season as I can create.  I love the holidays…from the first colors of Fall through the last parades of New Years Day, I’m infused with a spirit and verve that is typically unlike the rest of my year.  Anything that allows me to eat decadent food, receive something for free and wear a corresponding costume/Christmas sweater/extra 5 lbs. without shame, is definitely high on my list.

I’m one of those people who work at the holidays.  You often hear about trying to simplify, cut back or make things easier on yourself.  I’m usually all for slacking off – believe me – but my feeling is that most of what makes me happy this time of year requires the kind of planning and coordination necessary to launch a satellite into orbit.  My husband and I celebrate traditions together that make us happy and remind us to be grateful for the wonderful lives we’ve been given.  These traditions don’t just happen though:  they have to be planned, and these plans have to be executed.   Themed parties for 50 don’t just spring up spontaneously like flash mobs.   Favorite seats at The Nutcracker aren’t delivered by fairy dust.  Pumpkins, turkeys, cards and gifts need to be carved, dressed, written and wrapped.  And I love most every minute of it, as long as I have the time and plan properly.

IMG_1487(The Glorious Sounds of Christmas with the Philadelphia Orchestra)

The funny thing is that, these days, this kind of effort is subtly discouraged and disparaged by today’s society.  The inference is that it’s materialistic and empty, when I believe that it’s worthwhile to go that extra mile to do something special for yourself and others.  What’s wrong with hosting friends graciously or delighting your family with a thoughtful present, note or gesture.   When did we get so lazy that we can’t even sign our own Christmas cards anymore, assuming we send them at all?

I know that each person has their own challenges with time, money and resources.   But keeping the holidays doesn’t have to cost much in time and money, just a bit of effort.  And those of us that do aren’t shallow or misguided.  At least I don’t think we are.  Speaking for myself, I’m trying to preserve the traditions and lessons passed down to me and bring some of the same joy that I experienced as a child to others, at a time when we all could use a bit more of it.

IMG_1394(No, this is not our Christmas tree.)

These gestures represent an aspect of home keeping that has apparently been lost to some degree.  I expect that in the future, we will eventually get to a point where we all just simply wire cash to each other’s bank accounts on December 24 and be done with it.  No gifts.  No bows.  No thought.  No feeling.  That’s not a future I look forward to.

Until that time, I will enjoy carrying out my plots and plans and relish the preparation and anticipation of a season that is supposed to bring peace and happiness to us all.

IMG_0061(This is our Christmas tree.)

Now, about this year’s party theme…

Oct31

Just in Time for Halloween, Ethel’s Back…

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As you might well expect, I just love holidays.   I love celebrations, themes, traditions and pretty much anything that gives me an excuse to purchase a special outfit.  So, Halloween is basically the trifecta of experiences for me:

  1. Halloween season heralds the halt of icky summer yard work and the beginning of holiday season compulsive planning.   (FYI, my life is a constant battle between my innate laziness and my love of making plans for tasks that seem like a good idea, but later I regret, complain about and try to avoid.)
  2. Brand new couture every year.   Usually with sparkles.
  3. Candy, yo.

This year, I decided to be a Mystic Witch.  This is a witch that doesn’t seem to have any discernible powers other than to get caught in spider webs and wear purple.

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My husband, who is a paragon of spousal support, has dubbed this costume Gandalf the Purple.

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I think he says that because he hates happiness and is secretly jealous that I look good in sparkly costumes.   He could never pull Mystic Witch off.

So you can imagine how excited I was when, in keeping with the spirit of the holiday, Ethel made her return.  Ethel is the name I gave a recurring bump on my wrist that makes an annoying and slightly painful appearance from time to time.   Doctors and other professionals (my idiot co-workers) have told me it’s called a ganglion cyst, but you know it as that thing women get as they get older and more crone-like.   Think of the arm that hands Snow White the poisonous apple.  Perfect timing, Ethel.    Not exactly Mystic Witch…more Wicked Witch.   And it’s making me cranky, so there’s that.

The funny thing is that when we share minor maladies with those we know, people naturally try and offer help, based on their experiences, life lessons and what they’ve picked up watching Dr. Oz.   Without fail, these well-meaning people all tell me to smash it with a book.  Hard.  Preferably a Bible.    When so many people repeated the same advice (including my parents, who are required by law to love me) I decided to do extensive research on the question.   After at least two Wikipedia articles and three patient online testimonials (cos who ever lies online?) I learned that many doctors still carry out this harsh sentence treatment.

WTF people?  Haven’t we progressed beyond this brand of Puritanical medicine?   But I guess it’s better than the alternative Puritan solutions to unusual phenomena.  Still, I think it’s barbaric and a little bit scary.  Not so much about the treatment, but more so that so many people seem to want to beat me with books.

Trick or Treat, Assholes.

Somebody pass me a Kit Kat.  No, no…my left hand.