Those Hollydaze R Upon Us Again and Where Is That Ol’ WPIX Yule Log When You Need It!
I had wanted to write about a Tarot card today but somehow the day got away from me. The holidays are upon us and with that comes a lot of preparation for family and friends and of course ourselves. It is easy to become overly stressed and panicky this time of year. So many of us have such high expectations of the holidays and what they are supposed to be and it is almost debilitating. The perfect house, must have the perfect tree and of course the perfect holiday gathering -what shall it be this year? Will we do a catered affair or will it be more of an open house with a buffet oh so much to do, so much to plan – oh my head!
Well, none of that is on my agenda thank the Gods! My partner and i are having our first holiday in our home after having been here for three years now. Prior to this we traveled back and forth to both our parent’s homes and by the end of it all we were exhausted! Please do not get me wrong – we so loved being with our families, but somehow it seemed we didn’t get to enjoy it as much as we would have liked because of tight schedules and all the traveling. So this year circumstances changed in such a way as to allow for our having the holidays home for a bit.
In many ways it will be traditional, but simple. I am of Italian descent and of course all I know is what my family has always done for Christmas Eve – fish and lots of it! I’ve never fried fish in my life and although I can follow a recipe, I somehow never mastered the fine art of frying things. Burnt offerings is much more like it. Well both my sister and my mother will be here and they know the ins and outs of frying things in oil. Well, this started out as a blog about keeping things simple and already I am realizing that it can be almost impossible to do that. There’s baking to be done, cleaning to be finished and a tree to be found and given prominence in the living room this weekend!
So what was I saying about keeping things simple – shall I get down from my soap box now?
I suppose what it all boils down too is trying to not let the unrealistic material based expectations of the holidays get the best of us. It is very easy to fall prey to the black magic of marketing and all the trappings that retail operations try to convince us are necessary to prove we are having a blessed and abundant holiday. Ahhh abundance – i’ve always had a problem with that concept. It is so much a western cultural concept. How about we concern ourselves with having what we need and leaving what we do not need for others who may need them as well.
Hmmmm. Exactly where am I going with this tonight? Ahhh yes the stress and anxiety of trying to create the perfect holiday. I had wanted to express how important it is to keep all of this glitz and pageantry in perspective and to always remember that having our loved ones near and a little fried fish to feed them is all that really matters.
