Thoughts on Christmas.

You know what.
I love Christmas.

I love the magic, the snow, the chill in the air, and the reminder despite 'how far' we've come, there is still a glimpse of being tied to a season and its traditions.

I remember the snowy Christkindl Markets in Munich, the silence of the streets of Lyon when we attended Christmas Eve service in that huge stone Cathedral in France. I love those glimpses of the quiet... the ancient, magical spirit of the season, and I get excited. It's one of the reasons we chose to have our wedding when we did.

That said, this year, as I try to get in the Christmas spirit (which I believe I am pretty good at doing) I just wanted to share some aggravation.

I have real trouble with how we are made to squeeze Christmas into a hectic schedule of work... We all have amazon.com hiding beneath an excel spreadsheet and have tried to slip out at lunch to pick up that gift we know we won't have time to buy otherwise. We barely have a spare moment on the weekend to race through traffic and crowds to find that perfect gift... and usually just to end up buying a giftcard (because, we all know "money's what they want anyway...") There's no time off to decorate the house or cook up a special meal because you're running around buying... buying.... buying.... for everyone. And if we're not buying, all we're talking and thinking about is what we WILL be buying.

I'd like to put a limit on it all. I really would. I just wish there would be some limit to the madness we've created around the holidays. It's become this occasion of scrambling and pleasing and juggling (who's house are we going to be at and how will we possibly get there in time?)

So I guess this is my "wishing for a simpler time" post. I'm usually too cynical for these, I promise. But here it is.

I am sick of the same glossy ads running the same sales every weekend. I am sick of those 20% off coupons at Bed Bath and Beyond that always end up in our recycling bin. I am sick of giftcards.

I am upset that my work can't understand that we'd still be profitable if the office were closed on Christmas Eve--we're scheduled to work. We aren't doctors, firemen. We aren't a store, and most of our customers are closed anyway. (It has been suggested, however, that it's a good time to catch up on office organization, archiving, and reporting...)

Is it too much to wish that there was some stillness, some magic left to the holiday? Or maybe that ends when we grow up and start having to please others. Or when you become a parent. Maybe then.

Either way. I'd love to slow down. Have the month off. Do some baking. Do some writing, some reflecting. Watch the snow fall, watch it sit undisturbed-- temporarily masking the imperfections of the world. I don't want salt thrown down before we wake so we can rush off to work, uninterrupted and unhassled. I want to be thoughtful about the gifts we give. I want it to be okay to give small things, and I want to be okay with receiving few things. I wish we could appreciate the harshness and the beauty of the winter. I wish we could find time to appreciate anything other than a quick checkout line or light traffic.

Maybe I just need to get over the burdens of these....realities. Am I going to quit my job or picket on Christmas Eve? No. I'm going to use my paid time off and take it off... yep. The whole day. It wasn't easy though- my entire staff needs to be in, per policy. Poor things.

But I'll be back on 12/26, 8am sharp.