Not sure I’ll publish this, or that any of it actually needs to be said, but it’s 9:22p (and, now that I’m old, nearly my bedtime), and I’m thinking about the holidays, expectations, and how to deal…
My fabulous and talented husband is just not into the holidays. Like me, he grew up with a single parent, and for their family, there were more pressing priorities most years.
My family was very into the holidays, but mostly as a performance art. There was church, a tree, a big meal, presents, the whole nine yards. There was also an enormous amount of stress, particularly for my mother, because the expectations, particularly for a single mom raising two children while working full time (and going to school, for a while), were unrealistically high. None of us were much help, so it was hard for her. (Time has dramatically changed the composition of our family — and as grown people, my brother and I contribute a lot more — the holidays are much smaller, and in many ways simpler.)
I actually like Christmas. I like evergreens and lights, red bows, giving presents, making a nice meal and sharing it with whomever. Over the Covid years, I put up lights and trees before Thanksgiving.
This year, not so much. 2023 has been a long haul — mostly it was good, but kind of intense. I wasn’t feeling great for a big part of it — not sick, thankfully, but in some pain and generally feeling meh. Add a couple of big-ish procedures and a round of icky medicine, and I’m ready to not see my doctors for a while.
And then, in what seemed like an omen, there was this:
The ornament thing just makes me laugh, because right now, it’s so on brand for this pup. She’s all joyful chaos, and in a way, the ornament is much more reflective of who she is after she “modified” it.
All this to say that Christmas 2023 is going to be mostly a non-event in this household. A tree would be too stressful with Lucy (aka the menace like Dennis), I don’t have the brain space to do a bunch of decorating, and fabulous and talented husband doesn’t seem to notice. Maybe everyone will be more excited about things next year, and maybe Lucy will mellow a little bit? Stay tuned!
The day itself is going to be really busy anyway. My volunteer shift falls on Christmas this year (like the Covid years!). I get to feed the classroom critters along with the raptors, and my fabulous and talented husband is helping me cope beaks and trim talons (and replace some cuffs that didn’t last as long as they should have), so it will be a significant investment of time. Then we’re having supper with some friends who suffered a terrible loss a couple of months ago. We’ll support our friends, and contribute to the Christmas meal with dairy free green bean casserole (if you sub cashew cream for heavy cream, you’re good to go) and a root vegetable tian (also dairy free, subbing the parmesan with a little bit of nutritional yeast).
Then maybe there will be time for some rest…
Speaking of which, it really is my bedtime now, so off I go.
Carmen Yount 