Christmas has been equivalent to stress for as long as I can remember. When I was in college, it always coincided with exams and final essays due, and school ended around 12/18 or so, so it was never an enjoyable December. By the time school ended, there were just days to get Christmas stuff done.
Now that I work full time, and have a child, it’s even more hectic and stressful. There are two major holiday parties the first two weekends of December and one is pretty much mandatory and one is optional. Both parties have over 500 guests and I get to stay at the hotel where the parties are, which is nice but it also fucks up the whole weekend. So two weekends in December have limited free time. This past weekend (the weekend we just finished as this is now Sunday night), my daughter had a birthday party Saturday morning, a Christmas party in the community I live in (it’s not called a “holiday party” it’s definitely a Christmas party) Saturday night, and this morning, Sunday, she had another birthday party, and this afternoon and evening we visited friends for dinner and hanging out.
Very hectic. So hectic that today, when backing out of my driveway this morning, frazzled and stressed, I didn’t see my neighbor walking behind my car with his dog and I almost ran him over. I heard “whoa whoa whoa!” and heard a noise. I pulled back into the driveway and saw him walking away. I am not sure exactly what happened because he was so upset he just put his hand up as he was walking away and I called apologies after him. I was not happy about the whole thing and am not sure what to do. I am considering asking a q on Fluther about it. Meantime, I decided that next year I am going to cut down on the parties and events (the other optional party at work I think I will pass on, even though I enjoy it). In my free time I have been trying to shop, and I can shop like a marathon runner, till 10 o’clock at night. Between the shopping, the parties, and work, it’s totally stressful. All the moms who work full time seem to be in the same boat. We were talking at the party yesterday about how every year Christmas comes so fast and we’re never ready.
I feel like the Christmas that is portrayed in magazines consists of beautifully wrapped presents, wonderful baking sessions with children, and writing out cards by the fireplace while sipping cocoa. Please. That has never happened in my adult life. Today, the birthday present for the first party was wrapped on the bed right before leaving the house, and the Christmas presents for the friends we visited were wrapped in the car with borrowed tape from the host.