I have been scrolling through old holiday pics and generally mulling over things (with the focus of a sand flea) during this national deep freeze. There hasn’t been much else to do once the snow was cleared from the drive and that gray tint was successfully banished from my fingertips and toes (and they were done telepathically cursing me for bringing them outside in record-cold windchills).
Most things sporting a plug have been unplugged (the electric company has been charging peak fees all-day because of the deep freeze), and the only creature (humans included) that wants to even set foot/paw outside is the odd “little” eternal kitten that we found outside in a Florida dumpster
… in July.
Go figure.
Even the dog, who is part Great Pyrenees and is usually tap tap tapping on the sliding door to go outside in the worst of weather, is crossing his paws and trying to resist the need to pee.
Anyhow, scrolling through the albums I notice a trend. Gone are the pics of the kids hanging ornaments all together. Hell, I’m lucky now if I can get two of them at a time in any combination in the same room as the Christmas tree before Christmas morning. And, more and more, I end up just throwing the rest of the ornaments I want up on the tree in the end. Which brings me to the second trend.
There are less and less ornaments on the tree, despite there being more ornaments in the ornament box. Part of this, I guess, is a result of our Florida termite Christmas a few years back, when the mentality of less is more was thoroughly hammered into our heads by our circumstances: the need to fit our holiday into the small space available at the time … with actual walls (Bah… Humbled).
And of course, the older the kids get, the more they have their own things going on.
But, part of it seems like the result of sheer festiv exhaustion. Interaction and conversations with those around me, lead me to believe that there are a lot of us with one foot or both firmly planted in The Room Beyond Tired.
Still, it somehow seemed easier to create the atmosphere of wonder and magic when My Moon, My Sun, and Little Man were younger. Despite the extra work sneaking around and hiding things from curious eyes. Despite the long night before that special morning, remembering where things were hidden, wrapping, and assembling, all while doing my best not to get caught. The season just seemed lighter.
Sure, the amount of viral crap circling like some kind of ravenous pack doesn’t help. But, it isn’t even just that. I found plenty of memories of our Pink-Eye Christmas, and the one when the flu tore through the house. They still look more festiv than I have been feeling in recent years.
And, this is coming from someone who has a skeleton as an elf-on-the-shelf (#beyondelfonashelf), and whose absolute favorite Christmas card was the one where I caught a fight sequence while trying for that perfect holiday pic.
So, I don’t consider myself to be particularly affected by Social Media Depression. I totally get that those perfect little images that can rain down on us like spikey little sleet pellets, are not the whole picture of anyone’s life.( This Holiday Season I Am Asking You Not to Believe Your Eyes. Please. A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words…unless it’s not. (vacation fails))
Perhaps it’s the healthy dose of teen angst that has filled the house more and more as all three of my angels pass out of that cute snuggly phase I adored.
Nah … this house runs on sarcasm and irony. I love being able to spar with them and not having to worry about elementary school teachers perhaps catching wind of some unsavory, misconveyed conversation.
So, maybe I am just over-thinking it. Maybe I am letting myself be over-influenced by my own Christmas past pictures. Kind of like the pain of birth … our minds tend to soften trauma over time, I guess.
Or, maybe it’s the frozen pot filler pipe and the anxiety that we might have a Christmas plumbing leak in our walls this year.
In any case, I guess it’s all part of an inevitable holiday-season-family-evolution.
WOW! We just hit 45 degrees! This after being in the -20s without counting windchill! And, the sun is shining! And, the dog wants to go out! (what did I tell you … focus of a sand flea). Time to get back to work, make my best attempts to update our holiday magic to fit our new family dynamic.
In any case, here at themoonthesunandlittleman.com we would like to wish you all a Merry Freakin’ Christmas and a wonderful Holiday Season!
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