chillin' in december
Actually, freezing in December is more like it, but I’m working on being optimistic about winter. Not really, but let’s just pretend that’s true. What I have NOT been doing in December is buying Christmas presents. I have a tendency to get all frazzled in this lovely, peaceful, joy-inducing month and miss out on enjoying it altogether because I’m so busy hurrying to get everything done. Things that are supposed to be fun, like finding thoughtful gifts for people I love, baking all the lovelies my mom bakes so that my house smells like Christmas the way I’m used to (and so I gain about 8lbs of insulation to last me through March), and sending out a Christmas letter. These things usually end up turning into an anxious unsettled feeling for me. I hate to admit that, but it’s true. I get frustrated at crowded stores when I’m shopping. The cookies burn in the oven and it takes me twice as long to make a second batch. The Christmas letter sits on the counter until January 10th and I have to cross out “have” in “Hope you have a Merry Christmas” and scribble in “had” with a smiley face that really means “I’m so disappointed with myself!” Holiday cheer becomes not-so-present.
I decided this year that I actually had some control over whether or not this happened. I got myself to get the shopping done early so that I could actually enjoy doing it and have one less thing on my list in the weeks right before Christmas. There’s still plenty going on, but it’s awesome to just have one thing crossed off the December to-do list, and to have time for things like doing nothing on a Friday night. Nothing but eating at a crappy Chinese restaurant and playing nerdy board games with my sister and brother-in-law. (Ahem. We recommend not trying out the China Buffet/Mongolian Grill across from HuHot.) I know. It sounds lame, but I am an introverted homebody and that is my favorite kind of Friday night. (I don’t try to explain this to the woman who cuts my hair and asks me every time I come in if I’m “going out this weekend.” Dear, sweet woman, I rarely go out in the way you mean. Going out, to me, means going out to eat. But I usually just smile and say “Oh, maybe.”)
What about you guys? Have you been chillin’? Freezing? Actually enjoying the Christmas season?
