The holidays are a funny thing as a whole. I sit and watch people run up their credit cards and max out what they can spend from their primary banking accounts just to prove to children that Santa Claus isn’t going to let the neighbors kid have more than them, no-sir-ree-bob. Get them the best, the name brands, if you can’t get them the best, get them thirty of them. Push and stuff and wrangle until there’s no room left for anything else, including quiet time together as a family.
I understand that it’s not like that for all families, and to those that find a balance at least, I commend everything you have to put into it to make it happen. Many times, external family sources make it difficult for this to happen. There’s always those sitting in the elite positions of “wisdom” that will compare little Bobby’s list to little Janie’s list, both from the point of quantity, but quality and price-point as well. It’s sad, really.
I mean, I’m really trying to not come across as a Grinch, but damn if that guy didn’t have a few points when he moved to the top of a mountain to get away from all of the shopping, gifting and the NOISE of the holiday in general. I mean, he took his household possessions and his dog and just up and moved from Whoville. TBH, after seeing every iteration of the show (live action and old cartoon), I really feel more sympathetic to the Grinch than I ever did to the people of Whoville, including little Cindy-Loo Who, who was no more than two.
I have a touch of seasonal depression that comes out this time of year. This year, my loving wife gave me the greatest gift she could have given me: this year, there is no tree, no tinsel, no boogedy-boogles. It’s as if the Grinch had already visited my little home and cleaned it right out! It was a decision we came to together, and I never imagined how much of a stress reliever it would be.
So, to end this post, I’ll Grinchily write a little something to close on:
He walked from his bedroom,
– SBK, The Modern Grinch
in house shoes and pajamas,
He saw no blinky lights,
He could not hear the llamas,
No ribbons or tinsel,
No tree for that matter,
And yet I was happy
Cause those things didn’t matter.