Monday, December 04, 2006

It's the Most Wonderful Time

It’s December 4th, and I haven’t decorated for Christmas yet. This is unlike me. Usually, at least the tree is up by now. It’s not the end of the world, and actually, I told myself last year that I was going to wait a little into December before I decorated because I didn’t want to get burned out. So, you could say that I’m following through with a healthy objective rather than just being lazy.

I haven’t written the highly anticipated Christmas letter to go with the Christmas cards, either. Come to think of it, I haven’t addressed Christmas cards. And I need stamps. I might actually need cards, too.

I need inspiration.

I decided to go to K-mart. OK, so maybe that’s not holiday Mecca, but I thought I might need a little Martha Stewart infusion. Maybe if I could channel Martha, I’d get in the decorating spirit. Besides, Al is open to the idea of getting another tree, one that’s pre-lit, and I have to strike before he changes his mind. Martha has trees, too, so maybe it could be one-stop shopping.

And do you know what I bought? *drum roll please* Nothing. Not a blessed thing. They’re going to kick me out of shopaholics anonymous. Besides the fact that everything was picked over and strewn all over the floor, making it impossible to find anything, it was all ugly. Well, not all of it, but nothing inspirational.

And you know, our little tree isn’t so bad. I mean, I’m pretty attached to it now. Sure, a couple of branches are missing, and one branch isn’t really supposed to be with this tree, but that’s why you put a tree by a wall or a window and not in the middle of the room.

Plus, I just had bad shopping karma today, so I decided not to piss off the gods any more by staying in that store. No matter where I turned, someone was parked in front of me, stopping me from going forward and someone was careening around the corner, almost running me over. And this store was practically empty. The lack of humanity, however, didn’t stop there from being a screaming child always one aisle over from me. But this is my curse. Practically every store I go to has a screaming child one aisle over from me.

I think I’ll just start decorating and fill in the holes. I’ve pared down the Christmas tasks quite a bit. As I said before, I have realized that it’s not my responsibility to make a perfect Christmas. Most people are just happy to be with family and friends, with maybe a Christmas cookie here and there.

A few years ago, I decided not to go overboard for Christmas. Minimal decorating, minimal baking, no letter with the Christmas cards, no itinerary to follow. And do you know what happened? Christmas came any way. It came just the same. And no one noticed that I didn’t do all those other things. And what did I learn from this? I’m completely unappreciated, that’s what I learned. But I also learned that there can be joy in the smaller things. And that it doesn’t have to be a Martha Stewart Christmas.

So, I think I’ll get some egg nog, put some Kahlua in it, turn on the Christmas carols and prepare for a Merry Christmas. Maybe I’ll bake some cookies and watch A Muppet Christmas Carol, that should put me in the right spirit. Forget channeling Martha, I’ll channel the ghosts of Christmas past and present instead.

8 comments:

Jay said...

"And what did I learn from this? I’m completely unappreciated, that’s what I learned."

Ohhhhh ... That's just not true!

The problem is that you are just surrounded by Scrooges.

Go with the Muppets. That's always fun.

Newt said...

Welcome to the club. I am married to the Grinch. My hubster's family is really into the IDEA of the holidays but they complain the entire process through and there is usually some sort of argument at the dinner table or in the kitchen. Of course the one person that totally gets into Christmas with me is 3,000 miles away - sigh....speaking of which I think I will call him and tell him not to put up the tree till I am there.

I bet your efforts are appreciated more than you know. In general people have forgotten how to say thank you or to acknowledge other people's efforts. I think our attention spans have gotten way to short.

By the way, by "people" I don't mean Jay or Betty or Al. :-)

Kell said...

Jay--Oh, I'm kidding! But you're right, I am surrounded by Scrooges. Wish you could have stuck around longer to help me decorate the inside of the house, too.

Newt--You're heading home pretty soon, aren't you? That'll be fun. And you're right, I'm not all that unappreciated. I am, however, that melodramatic.

Molly said...

Channeling the ghosts of Christmas past and present sounds better than channeling Martha. You are right most people are happy to be with family and friends. I have done a little decorating, but the rest will wait. Now, I am taking time out from preparing the Christmas letter, which usually we send out after December 25th. I wish you well with your holidays. Peace, mjd

Kell said...

Thanks MJD and welcome. I didn't even get Martha Stewart Living's Christmas issue--that's how relaxed I am.

Anonymous said...

I'm not ready for Christmas yet! We aren't done with birthdays.

Nothing wrong with being melodramaric...it's kinda fun sometimes!

Anonymous said...

I love A Muppet Christmas Carol! How fun. I'll be right over with the Kaluha...

Sounds like you're putting the priorities in the right places with the holiday. It doesn't have to be "Martha-ized" to be special.

And I have a sneaking suspicion you are very appreciated. :)

BTW - I loved that you chose the phrase, "It came just the same". So Seuss of you!

Kell said...

Susan--it's hard having birthdays so close to Christmas. All our birthdays are a couple of months after, so we get a little bit of a break.

Ch3ll3--I was so disappointed that I actually missed 1 on the Grinch quiz that Jay found. And I guess I'm pretty appreciated. I'm going to work on "adored" next.