November 23, 2002 - 9:17 am
Today is the day I officially become a big Christmas nerd.
Every year, as soon as it starts getting cold, I have to defend myself against the inevitable Seasonal Affective Disorder and other things that make winter hell on earth by overhyping the holidays.
In all reality, I have a lot of reasons to like the Holidays, the most important being the extra time I get to spend with my family. Anybody knows me should know how much of a goon I am for my sister and her kids, not to mention the rest of my kin (parents excluded), so it's no surprise that this is a good time of the year for me. (NOTE: Two of my nephews have birthdays within a month of Christmas, so the family gatherings go on at DOUBLE the frequency!) Also, I am a gift-giving fiend! I'm the kind of person that makes candy every Halloween, who makes Easter baskets and Valentines for her friend far past normal expectations. I just really dig that shit. So Christmas is a wonderful time for finding "That perfect gift" for everybody I can afford to shop for.
However, there are also many reasons to hate the holidays. I've already expressed my dislike of Michigan weather. Second, the mall is an overcrowded, screaming child-filled HELL of a location at as of November 1st through the end of January. Third, there's always some sort of inevitable holiday depression that hits damned near anyone whos family or love life isn't peachy keen. Personally, I think we all know how shitty my love life will always be, but more importantly, this is the time of year when I really miss my mom and wish she weren't such a horrid bitch to me. I mean, I don't really remember the last time I saw my dad at Christmas (Scratch that, it was in 6th grade), but for the first 19 years of my life my mom was a steady part of it, and now she doesn't want to be. Christmas is a good time for me to remember how much that stings. These are just a few of the reasons I should hate Christmas.
But I still don't.
I focus on the good, try to forget about the bad, and I even go as far as to tell myself a LOAD of lies. For example, my empty lifeless pit of a home, in my head, is now a bright happy warm place where all of my loved ones are, where I make homemade soup and bread, and we eat together while we square off at Bust-A-Move (a la last year).
Nonetheless, there is one thing I do have: Stacey Jane's pumpkin bread. Today we're spending the evening together so that we can, among other roommatey night together things, make the motherload. I did what I could to start cleaning out my freezer last night, and I'll keep working on it. No matter what the holidays really have in store, I always look forward to today, and now it's here. It's my sign that Thanksgiving is right on our heels and that I've got to keep reminding Stacey Jane about my "No Christmas decorations until after the Thanksgiving ones go down" rule as often as necessary.
And that is why I love Christmas. The End.
Later that day: Errands went well. I found a winter coat that is goodness, yet could be afforded. In fact, it was afforded so well that I went and bought underwear and Rainbow Brite shoelaces. Also, while shopping for foodthings to facilitate our pumpkinbread making, I detoured into the Christmas aisles and bought myself Spiderman Christmas wrapping paper. Spidey's got a santa hat! It's cooler than it sounds, I promise!
