First Wednesday relationship advice from Rebecca Ward:
On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, I have a mission: I
want my house in full-Christmas-Bling before the sun sets. I'm up early and I'm
all over it. Wreaths go up first as if to announce I am in full decorating mode
and this house is under full-boar assault! And before the sun sets, my goal has
been met with a bit of professional help. The house is appropriately
adorned for the holidays with the tree lit, candles burning, and old familiar
Christmas stuff out where it belongs. I just love it and keep lights on around
the clock.
And on the day after Christmas, I have another mission and
that is to remove all of the paraphenalia as quickly as possible. I want it all
gone, packed away, disappeared and my house returned to normal. Two happy
days with lots of activity between them.
Holidays are wonderful. I love seeing my neighborhood start
twinkling with white and colored lights and my drive home from work accented
now with holiday decorations that are fun to see. It's all a rather emotionally
loaded time as we recall past yuletide memories and enjoy all the new ones
we're making. I think it's a time of indulgence as we likely eat and
drink too much and possibly spend too much on giving and receiving. We are
definitely into a period of ignoring if possible the ordinary pains of everyday
life and enjoying the "holiday spirit". Many of us don't want to deal
with unpleasant issues until "after the holidays." We don't want
anything to spoil our merriment I think.
And then JANUARY arrives and sometimes with a hangover!! New
Year's Eve and New Year's Day are our last holidays until....well, next year.
We've got some minor ones through out but Thanksgiving til New Years is our
holiday season so it can feel a little desolate when January arrives signifying
our month long societally sanctioned period of celebration has ended. We can no
longer be in denial about life returning to normal. Credit card bills start
arriving and there is that nagging thought about taxes coming up. Oh, my.
January can mean paying the piper. Yikes, what was I thinking with all that
shopping?
So maybe we get the Blues or the Blahs for a bit. I think
that's understandable. Coming home from a vacation is both a relief and a
let-down and coming down from holiday highs can also be an ambivalent time.
We're glad all the extra-work and tasks are done but a little sad to see it
fade away. Some folks have trouble "letting go" so they keep their
tree and other decorations up awhile longer. They nibble on the fudge and
divinity and cookies too and don't want to think of more austere dietary
offerings.
Hey, that's fine. Get through January and the end of the
holiday season however works best for you. I love January. It's a month to rest
and reflect and I go into quasi-hibernation with a few naps on the weekends.
It's time to read good books and maybe watch taped tv shows I didn't have time
for before. Hopefully there might be a snow day to enjoy and rainly days are
always guilt-free "don't leave the house" days. All in all, January
offers us a great month to rest!
So not to worry if you have the "blahs" or the
"blues" and your energy level is not up to speed. Rest and recover
from your holiday activities. The Super Bowl is on its way and then
Oaklawn will open and there will be daffodils blooming before you know it!
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