A pressure-free Christmas
is much merrier
Margaret Mitchell
I've gone from Thanksgiving to the end
of the semester to Christmas -- all within the span of a single column.
Awesome.
Yes, it's hard to believe another semester
-- and another year -- coming to an end. It seems like only yesterday that
I was keeping up with my reading on a daily basis ... OK, maybe not. But,
as usual, it just all seems to have flown by so quickly.
In a column back in August, I mentioned
that this was going to be my first semester taking day classes. I can look
back and with great confidence say that it was worth the pay cut I took
to be off two days a week.
Not only do I think I learned a lot more
in the classes, especially because my brain wasn't already in the process
of shutting down five minutes before 5 p.m., but working only three days
a week has really improved my mental attitude. For example, I find I like
my coworkers a lot more when I only have to see them every other day.
To the night students reading this column:
if it is at all possible to take day classes, do it!
So, like many of you I will be spending
the next few days reading the books I should have read weeks ago and trying
desperately to cram as much information in my worn-out brain as I possibly
can.
I've had a great semester, but I, like
all of you, will be glad to see it end, so we can get on to more important
things: vacation.
I am also glad to see December arrive because
it finally justifies the holiday decorations that have been decking the
malls since mid-September. And the recent cold snaps have also helped with
the mood; I don't know, it just feels more like Christmas when everybody
is wearing jackets and not shorts.
I managed to get through Thanksgiving --
Cajun style, for anybody who is interested (including the best gumbo I
have ever made) -- and am, for the first time since I was a child, looking
forward to Christmas. Why? Because I don't have to celebrate it.
OK, this may seem odd, but I have reached
the point where I would love to just abolish the whole Christmas Day thing
and instead just have it as a season, like spring. I love the decorations
and the parties, and all the specials on television, but when it gets down
to the morning of the 25th, I would prefer just to sleep through the whole
thing.
I've been trying for years to do just that,
but I keep running into a big brick wall, namely my mother.
For some insane reason, she doesn't want
to give it up or put limits on anything -- despite what she may agree to
in advance.
But this year, we've managed to circumvent
this problem: we're going on a trip -- far away, on a plane and not to
see relatives (for whom you have to bring extra stuff).
No, this year, we can have the perfunctory
Christmas thing and then hit the slopes instead of spending 20 minutes
ripping through piles of presents we won't remember next year and then
spending the rest of the day being bored.
I find that having the pressure taken off
me has put me more into the spirit of the season than I have been in a
very long time. Now, finally, I feel like "Merry Christmas" is no longer
a contradiction in terms.
So as you read this, probably as a diversion
from what you should be doing instead, think: it's almost over -- just
one more week.
After that, you can focus on more important
thoughts like time off from school, lots of holiday goodies and that SoapNet
will be available on Time Warner's digital cable in just a couple of weeks.
Happy Holidays!
