Mary Angel

(1/2023) I have survived another whirlwind year end holiday season. Thanksgiving, Christmas and all that leads up to it, and New Year’s have come and gone and taken me for another ride and left me exhausted. There is something magical and yet overwhelming about the holidays.

Thanksgiving is all about friends and family and food. I don’t have a ton of planning, just a bit of scheduling and working out conflicts. Everyone comes to our house, and we feast. We make the turkey and sides, while my mom makes her famous burnt bottoms (biscuits she overcooks) and store-bought pies, because as she says, "you don’t want me baking a pie!" My brother brings some unusual beer for the adult beer-drinkers to try. We all enjoy a wonderful meal together and then sit around the television while the tryptophan kicks in. Some of us give into the overwhelming urge to nap, while others scream at the football game on the television.

As soon as Thanksgiving is over it is time to begin the Christmas preparation and helping the United States economy return to the black! Black Friday is all about shopping for Christmas, whether it be in person or on-line. In the past we would be out and about on Black Friday before the sun was up. Now that everyone is older, I choose to do my on-line shopping in the morning and then the girls and I will venture into the hysteria in the late afternoon when all the die-hard shoppers are at home regaling everyone with their spoils. The next few weeks will be spent trying to find a good deal on the gifts everyone has on their lists, while also keeping my eye out for those little unexpected gifts that will surprise each person on Christmas day. This year proved especially challenging with inflation smacking me in the face with every price tag.

The week before Christmas I will wrap, wrap, wrap. A more accurate statement would be that my daughter and I will wrap, wrap, wrap, as she will take pity on me and help me accomplish that daunting task. As Christmas draws nearer, I will go into a panic over one of the children when I realize they have much fewer gifts to place under the tree. This will be immediately followed by some panic Amazon shopping and possibly me printing pictures of the items that will not arrive on time so that I have something to wrap.

A couple days before Christmas I will run out and get the few gift cards I forgot to buy and bake thousands of cookies (okay maybe it just seems like thousands). Then I will suddenly realize I never ordered the year in review calendars that I give as gifts. Luckily, everyone knows these will come late, as they do every year. Wrapping paper will fly once again and then it will be Christmas night and I will have to accept that what I have accomplished is what it is going to be.

When the kids are in bed, yes they all know about Santa, but I still wait for them to go to bed, my husband will help me bring the gifts out and put them in little (very little this year) piles for each child. Christmas morning will be spent with my parents and brother opening gifts and eating breakfast together. Breakfast is bacon and a plethora of make ahead breakfast casseroles that we make the night before and pop in the oven in the morning. Then everyone goes about their business until dinner when we are all together again. Dinner is similar to Thanksgiving, only ham instead of turkey. I know, we are so daring and exciting!

There will be a few days where things are semi-back-to-normal, then we gear up for New Year’s Eve. Every year we get together with my best friend and her family and have an appetizer extravaganza! The past few years have been a major bummer because of covid. Her family has many health issues and they are extremely cautious. This year will be the same, a bit more laid back. The kids have asked to have a few friends over to either watch movies or play video games. They have also requested the same appetizer extravaganza that we would have had with our regular company. I am finding this a little more difficult this year. Normally after Christmas I get a little down. I am not sure if it is the winter blues or coming off of the Christmas high. I just know that I get a bit introspective and think about friends and family who were not with us at Christmas, the pitfalls I experienced the past year, and any mistakes I perceive as having been avoidable.

The good news for me is that I find great joy in New Year’s resolutions. I treat the new year like a new beginning or a fresh start. I try to make a New Year’s resolution that is important to me and that is doable. None of this I am going to lose 50 pounds by summer, or I am going to work out every day. None of that is ever going to happen. Not only am I not that motivated, but there are not enough hours every day. I also feel like those are resolutions that would lead me to failure. So, my resolutions are more like eating healthier, snacking less, exercising more, or doing a kind gesture for someone without them knowing. I suppose they are all more feel good, be healthier resolutions than extreme ones.

I am so excited for this new year, this new beginning, and making life a little healthier! I hope your winter blues are short and mild and that your new year’s resolutions bring you joy and good health for a lifetime to come.

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