This Christmas

Christmas is about a week away.  Lately, I’m pretty much irritated by all things Christmassy (all things holidays really).  It didn’t used to be this way. There was a time when Christmas was my absolute favorite holiday (tied with my birthday which, in my opinion, should be celebrated as an international holiday, this will be rectified when I take over the world).  At some point I went from Sally Brown (letter writing and all) to The Grinch.  And yes, my heart is absolutely microscopic right now.

So I know you are wondering, what made me this way? There are lots of reasons, but the quick and dirty answer is… just living.  Sometimes life has a way of changing even the most optimistic individual into a pessimistic curmudgeon.  Not that I was ever an overly optimistic person anyway. I’ve always been a little more Eeyore than Pooh.  Definitely glass half empty with a crack in it.  But whenever Christmas came around my frown would turn upside down, at least for a couple of hours.  But the world has ruined it for me!

This is supposed to be one of the happiest times of the year.  There’s supposed to be lots of “laughter and good cheer” but quite a few of you have forgotten that.   Like where’s the cheer in cussing some lady out because she got to the last Easy Bake Oven before you could? How jolly is it to fistfight over a Tickle Me Elmo? Was it really worth it to trample a pregnant lady as you stampeded toward the $20 DVD players? And all of this is supposedly done in the name of gift giving and happiness? Yeah right.

Maybe this is my grinchiness coming out but this seems to be one of the most selfish times of year.  Most people don’t give in the spirit of giving.  Yeah, you say that you give gifts out of love and to see the smiles that you bring to the recipients faces.  And, I guess this may be true in some cases.  But in my opinion, and I don’t get paid for them so you can take it for what it’s worth, you are doing the giving only for the recognition.  You want to be the coolest uncle, the most awesome mom or dad, the greatest grandma, or whatever.  And you’ll do whatever it takes to get and keep that title.  It’s ridiculous the things that people go through to make sure their loved ones get everything on their Christmas lists.  Now I’m not saying that making sure your people are happy is a bad thing.  I’m saying that you shouldn’t do dumb shit to make sure that it happens.

You shouldn’t be out in the mall calling other moms the carpet because they snatched up the last sweater in Old Navy.  You shouldn’t be going into debt to buy laptops and cell phones for toddlers.  You shouldn’t be skipping bill payments so that your teenager can have $200 jeans.  I mean if those pants can keep the whole family warm, then go for it.  If not, tell little Tray’KeiShia she’s going to have to wait or get a job.  You shouldn’t be contemplating hoe shit to make sure hubby gets that watch he really, really wants.

The world has lost sight of reason why we celebrate Christmas.  This is not a time for extravagant gifts and over the top celebrations.  Although they are fun for most they are certainly not a requirement.  This is a time of reflection and remembrance.  We should be celebrating the birth of Christ and all of the blessings in our lives.  Not going out of our way to prove something or to outdo each other.  All of this madness is the reason why people get stressed, depressed, and anxious at this time of year.  It’s useless and unnecessary.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on all of the family issues that rear their ugly heads around the Christmas dinner table.  I swear it’s like people save up all of their dysfunction just so they can wrap it up in a bow and deliver it on Christmas.  And what better place to do that than at dinner when everyone is trapped and can’t say anything back to you because their mouths are full of delicious, macaroni and cheese and yeast rolls? You know that it's coming.  But there's nothing you can do to protect yourself from it.  Because Uncle Petey or Cousin Clementine are going to show their asses regardless of what anybody says or does. 

Okay, I’ve said enough.  I know you’re not going to stop what you’ve been doing just because I decided to get up on my soapbox today.  I know you’re not going to change just because I told you to. So just take the words I’ve said and try to own whatever applies to you. Remember, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.  Consider that the next time you launch yourself at top speed into someone who cuts in front of you in the line for cheap flat screen televisions.