“welcome to
no amount of stoned makes you feel ok
welcome to
this year’s alone – brought to you by christmas day
welcome to
the darkness into which prayin people pray
it’s quiet here except for this song
now that everybody’s gone
but hey
least you don’t have to play along today.” Ani DiFranco
Who doesn’t love the holiday season? I am guessing many of us, or this is more of a New York City thing. Life goes by too quick to begin with. Although I am not Christian, I love having a tree and celebrating the holidays with family but the stress leading to it is major. Ever year it is the same story, weekends of stress leading to travel to finally enjoy a couple days with loved ones. No matter what focus my life has it is always the same thing.
This year school has run my life and needless to say, I did not even think of the holidays until Wednesday when school was out! Every second of free time was reading, writing, studying, working, or trying to find someone to work for me (waiting tables). Now I have one afternoon before work to finish shopping and go to work. The one thing going for me is a great holiday surprise for my boyfriend that I will reveal after X-mas.
But it was the same in the corporate world. I worked all the way to the end of the week and then had to get prepared to travel. I guess the only plus to that was shopping on lunch breaks but that was stress.
Is this overwhelming stress just me? Do we spend too much time forcing baking, shopping, preparing and stressing over what to do to make others happy. Then poof…it’s over. There has to be a better way to relax through the holidays and truly enjoy the meaning of them.
Last year I gave up and stayed alone in NYC to save money and work waiting tables everyday not having anything to do with the holidays. It sucked. I am reminded of an Ani DiFranco song shroud – along with the first quote – she spoke to me that holiday…
“ i had to leave the house of privilege
spend christmas homeless and feeling bad
to learn that privilege is a headache
that you don’t know that you don’t have”
My family never called and I was pretty bummed. Why have we, as a society, lost focus of the holiday… well, capitalism and wants but why can’t we look over that once a year?
This year I am going to the Blue Ridge Mountains to my partner’s family for Christmas. This will be new because it is about family and love and being together. I hope this all changes my holiday outlook. Today is his last day of work at the job we met at that made me very unhappy. He is going to concentrate on his own business and I am so happy for him.
Well – Happy Holidays!!!!
