What happened to the excitement? The magic?
I am referring to the magic of the holidays.
Of course, there is still excitement and magic for many — especially those of a young age like my grandbabies. But this old lady (and I speak as someone who has been offered an AARP card) has seemingly lost the excitement.
Once the Halloween date has passed, it seems the hurry, hustle and bustle of Christmas takes over. I commented to the hubs recently how many Christmas trees I had already seen on social media being put up in homes. If you’ve done that, enjoy! Not me, though. I want to take it slow and enjoy the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.
Several years ago, my mom decided that she no longer wanted to host Thanksgiving at her house. I can totally understand that. We have a large family and preparing for and cooking for a huge number of people when you are ... um, uh ... past retirement age is a lot of work and is tiring. Not that she is not capable — she totally is — but I sure don’t blame her a bit. So for these last several years, I have taken on the task of hosting our family Thanksgiving get-together at our home.
The week leading up to it is usually somewhat tense, as I have a number of projects and cleanup tasks that I ask the menfolk of the house to help with. They grumble a little, but I couldn’t make it without them. And once everyone arrives, the meal is served and we all kick back to relax and visit, it is clear that it is worth all the effort.
With October, November and December being our busiest months at work, I feel more stressed than usual. Add to that the stress of shopping for all the loved ones on my list, not knowing what to give them, attending holiday events and gatherings — it just all seems overwhelming sometimes, especially when you realize you’ve got only got five weeks until the big guy in the red suit arrives.
I am positive some of the magic will appear when I see my grandbabies enjoying all the wonder the holidays have to offer, but, for now, I just want to slow down, enjoy and count my blessings during these weeks of November. I hope you can, too!
