Last night the semester officially ended for me. Now, I am a thirty-something year old woman; yet without fail the official moment school ends each semester Alice Cooper starts to sing in my head… School’s out for summer! School’s out forever!!! Those are the only two lines I know, so the song gets a little repetitive very quickly.
Yes there is a bliss, however brief, that comes with the moment school ends. It is reminiscent of early summer days as a child, when summer vacation yawns before you chock full of endless possibilities. The same bliss accompanied the moment Christmas vacation started; two weeks filled with Christmas parties and enough cookies to even make Santa queasy. The holiday specials on television, especially Charlie Brown’s Christmas (I have a soft spot for spindly little trees) helps to make the season bright. As does driving around looking at holiday light displays, with thermoses of hot cocoa and extra marshmallows; I am a sucker for sparkle. These are just a few of my favorite things…
Things that I love (winter edition):
- When you turn on the television to unexpectedly find a marathon of your favorite show the same day you are stuck at home cleaning the house.
- Waking up to find a snow on the ground and realizing that you didn’t have to leave anyway.
- Putting on a pair of pajamas fresh out of the dryer.
- Fuzzy slipper socks
- Finding your favorite wine on super sale.
- When your husband unloads the dishwasher, washes the dishes or cleans anything without being asked. (better than oysters as an aphrodisiac, listen up all you men out there)
- A hug from your kiddo just because she loves you.
- Snuggling on the couch, discovering a Charlie Brown Christmas with your three year old.
Anyone one of these things is enough to send me into a blissful stupor. But in the last couple of weeks all of these moments have occurred at least once. (Okay, okay I am officially addicted to putting my jammies in the dryer before I put them on.) Forgive me if I break into song:
(to the tune of the Julie Andrews staple, Favorite Things)
A clean house surprise and good wine on sale
Criminal minds marathon while on cleaning detail
Brightly colored socks made with fuzzy warm strings
These are a few of my favorite things…
When your boss bites
When your cars dinged
When the wine goes bad…
I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don’t feel soooo BAD!
Alice Cooper and Julie Andrews in the same blog post… what a good day.
Filed under: Holidays | Tags: attitude, christmas, holidays, stress, traditions
‘Tis the season to be crazy; falalalala la la la SCREAM! This is the song I have been singing lately. Catchy, right? I love the holiday season, but it seems each year it gets a little more hectic. When I wake up Christmas morning it is not with the bliss one might expect, but more like a holiday hangover after too much eggnog. I look around and wonder, what happened to the Christmas season?
I know I was there for it. I vaguely recall shopping and cooking and decorating but the images are blurry. And not unlike a bad hangover, I wake up slightly panicked that one way or another I will embarrass myself, with a forgotten gift or a package mix up. (No dad, I was not trying to make a statement by giving you earrings. Yes I know you could totally pull them off if you wanted to.)
With all the rushing and the planning I feel like I never really stop to appreciate the season. A situation I exacerbated by installing new carpet last week. (P.S. You know you are a grown-up when you ask for new carpet for Christmas.) For three days last week I felt like I belonged on one of those reality shows for hoarders. Everything we owned was stuffed into our kitchen and our bedroom with little trails to the front and back door. My attitude is directly proportional to my surroundings. If I had to describe my mood last week the best depiction could only be: completely, off-the-wall, insane, nut-bag. My husband was thrilled.
Did I mention that it was finals time? Brilliant thinking on my part, wouldn’t you say?
So this week I decided it was time for an attitude adjustment, and not just by the glass. (You may have noticed from previous posts that I like wine.) This week I decided to make an effort to enjoy the season. I also decided to take some time to put my head in a better place, as in not SUPER crabby.
So on Tuesday we went to see Christmas lights. Several million twinkling lights and a super excited three year old is bound to put a smile on anyone’s face. I could feel my inner Grinch melting away. We oohhed and aahhed as we turned each corner and drove through sparkling tunnels of light. We stopped at the petting zoo and made several new friends. (Apparently I am very popular with camels. Who knew? I will post a picture later.)
On Wednesday I went to the salon and got my hair done. Nothing makes me feel better than having someone cover all of my grey while gossiping about Glee and Justin Timberlake. Despite the yucky weather I left the salon with a spring in my step and swish of my hair; singing “All I Want for Christmas” and harnessing my inner Mariah Carey the whole way home. I swear I hit notes that only dogs could hear, but I don’t care.
Today I woke up and got a massage before heading off into the shopping fray. A little lavender scented oils and an awesome heated massage table is a great attitude adjustment on a cold winter’s day. The line at the post office didn’t seem nearly as annoying. And the crowds in Target didn’t seem nearly so nasty, I even noticed a couple of smiles as I walked down the aisles. That may have had something to do with the Mariah Carey Christmas on my Ipod… and the fact that I forget how loud I sing when I have my ear buds in. Or it could just be the Christmas spirit, who I am to say?
So now, attitude adjusted I am ready for Christmas a full week ahead of schedule. I am ready to soak it all in and revel in the holiday spirit. Tomorrow, my inner Grinch banished, I am going to bake holiday cookies until I run out of room in my kitchen (or I get sick of raw cookie dough, but I really think I will run out of space before that happens.) I am going to I am going to catch up with old friends and drink hot cocoa with my family. And if I feel my inner Scrooge trying to rear his ugly head, I will just drown him with peppermint schnapps. It’s seems like the Christmas-y thing to do.
a life just ordinary 