Christmas

Oh yes, I said it. Yes I did.

I have a strong desire to just get all the makework of Christmas done early this year. I like the idea of contacting people and I like my friends and family but honestly, cards are a pain in the derriere. I love giving presents but I dislike being pushed to figure something out and find it at the last minute. I am annoyed by long lines at the post office. I avoid putting together packages (I don't really understand why, it just seems to take me forever.)

I feel like this every year but it seems particularly strong this time. I love Christmas. I like laid-back holidays; we never had high-expectation holidays when I was a kid and I continue to refuse to stress out about something that's supposed to make me happy, at least on the day of. This year I'd just like to extend that for most of the month, since I enjoy the ambiance so much (5 billion repeats of "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth" is NOT AMBIANCE, it's NOISE). I don't enjoy shopping in crowds at all, and if I do it in November, then I won't have to in December. But all the decorations? Even some of the cheesy old carols? The smell of pine? Pretty lights? LOVE.

We're probably not traveling this year - for the first time in 9 years. The Love Monkey's work thought it'd be a good idea to have some January deadline (yeah, that always works SO WELL), so he can't really take off extra time. I made him absolutely promise not to work Christmas, though, not even unofficially. I'm secretly happy I do not have to battle airlines and weather and cope with buses and luggage and travel, although we'll miss being with family.

Anyway. Christmas. Maybe I was a crow in previous life, since I have such an affinity for shiny, pretty, and glittery, especially in December. Everything else seems so dark and cold during this time of year, and winter holidays seem to cut right through that.

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I bought a suit this weekend. There was an extremely lucky happy accident for me at a consignment shop on Saturday. I have never owned a suit in my life; my "pretend I look professional" clothes are sad and don't really communicate that message very well. I wonder if this is another checkbox on the "adult" list I can check off.