Are you ready for Christmas? Hannukah? Kwanzaa? I’m not. I grew up Catholic, so we’ve always celebrated Christmas, as does Jerry’s family. A few of my friends of differing religions also experience stress over the holidays.
There’s just so much to do, and the atmosphere everywhere is just so hectic and hurried. Not only am I a scrooge (see this post), but it’s difficult to pack so many family gatherings into a very short period of time. As most families do, we alternate days each year regarding celebrating; this allows us more time with each side. Even so, with so many kids and grandkids in both families, it’s become very difficult schedule-wise to find a date that works for everyone.
In addition to being bitter af about the scheduling this year being completely different from what it should be, there’s also the chaos. My oldest nephew is now 12, so he’s at the age where everything he wants is extremely expensive. Then there’s the flight and all the travel issues- I swear, it’s one of the things that gives me the most anxiety (see this post).
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Finally, I haven’t even begun to wrap presents yet. If Jerry thinks I’m going to do it all this year, he’s sadly mistaken…lol. I can’t believe Christmas is in just three days. I’m SO NOT READY. On the bright side, despite the anxiety and stress, I’m looking forward to a few things: The food is always great, I can’t wait to have ham balls- several of my cousins and I believe it’s not really Christmas without ham balls and cheesy potatoes. We went a year without them, and many of us were pretty saddened. It’s easy to make these in Iowa where they’re popular, but not down here. One cannot find ham loaf (a mixture of ground beef, pork, and ham) already made down here like you can back home. I’m telling you, I wanted these things SO badly, that I bought a ham, and used an immersion blender (!!!) to grind it up. It took me two hours to do it, but damnit, I did it. So, this year, to help ease my sour bitterness about the scheduling, my mom promised ham balls.
Another positive thing is that we will be seeing Jerry’s grandkids, and my nephews. These four boys are the only saving grace for me at holiday time! I’m a bit confused that Jerry’s family is the ONLY family I’ve ever met that only has their Christmas celebration on December 25th, which means shorter visits since everyone has to work around get-togethers with their “other” families. But, at least we will get to see Munky Chunks and the little Turkey.
This brings me to another point- although I’m missing what is probably going to be sort of a “last Christmas” with my family for certain reasons, Jerry has reminded me that this will only serve to give us more time with my nephews. While I love being able to see all of my family (which happens about ONCE a year, and not at all this year 🙁 ), my Sweetumsie Heart and Chunky Munky are the highlight of our Iowa trips- everything I choose to do revolves around them.
During stressful times, I try to remind myself to look for the silver lining. These four boys really crack me up and can make me laugh no matter what mood I’m in! They are my heart, and despite all my bitterness and holiday anxiety, they make it all worthwhile. So, instead of stressing any further, I do believe I’ll go look through pictures of the four boys, and salivate over those ham balls! 😉
Happy holidays!
Do you get stressed out over the holidays? How do you ease the chaos? Scroll down to comment below!
