By June Mathews
Wow. It’s hard to believe a whole year has flown by, and another holiday season is upon us. And with it come all the trimmings, many of which I could do without. I don’t mean to come off as a Scrooge; I dearly love Christmas and the Savior it celebrates. But the shopping, decorating, food preparation and party-going routine seems to be getting more overwhelming every year. Or is it just that I’m getting older? (Rhetorical question, folks. Please keep your catty remarks to yourselves.)
The December page of my monthly calendar started filling up in mid-November, and I’ve hardly had a restful moment since. If I’m not baking cookies, tossing some decorations on a tree or headed out to some store or another, I’m scrounging around for an extra roll of Scotch tape or pushing to finish the handmade gifts I create for my birthday club ladies each year.
I wake up during the night wondering what I’ve forgotten to do and making mental lists of what I need to accomplish during the day to come. And once the nocturnal hamster wheel in my head really gets going, I usually think of somebody to be added to the Christmas list or another item to be picked up at the grocery store.
Even when I’m sound asleep, the season tinkers with my subconscious. I dreamed last night that someone stole my car and a trunk
load of presents with it. The panicked thought of starting my Christmas shopping all over again caused me to awake in a cold sweat. And oh, yeah, in the midst of all the rush and sleeplessness, I actually have to get some work done. Christmas doesn’t pay for itself, you know.
Remember when you were a kid, and the time lapse between one Christmas and the next seemed like about five years? When the last week of school before the holiday break seemed endless, and the few remaining days before Christmas dragged on forever? Now the days fly by, and the agonizing wait is a thing of the past. I hardly know Christmas is here before it’s gone. And now it’s here again.
Once when I was about seven or eight, I innocently wished aloud that Christmas could come every day. Much to my surprise, Mama rather vehemently responded, “Oh, my goodness, don’t even think that!”
Though it shocked me at the time, I now understand her reaction all too well. I’m frankly horrified that I ever considered increasing the frequency of the holiday season a good idea. Youth and outright greed (I figured if Christmas came every day, I’d receive presents every day) are my only excuses.
In my current harried state, I’m thinking about starting a petition setting forth that Christmas should occur only once a decade. I’m betting there are a lot of weary people who would gladly sign it. I doubt many of them would be retailers, but you never know. Maybe they’re tired of the holiday rat race, too. I just bet they’re not tired of the revenue it brings.
I’ve got to admit, though, as much as I long for a more relaxing holiday season than I’ve been able to enjoy for a while now, I’d probably feel the void if it didn’t happen each year. For every stressful thing about Christmas, there are probably ten things that make the frenzy worth it
.
But all I can say is, whoever coined the phrase “slow as Christmas” must have been smoking something awfully potent at the time. And if I ever figure out what it was, I’m liable to ask Santa to drop some by the house before he gets too busy. I could use a little help getting through the holidays, and a mind-altering substance might be just the ticket.
Email June Mathews at jmathews120@charter.net.