Monday 22 December 2008

Oh Crikey, It’s Nearly...

No sooner am I released from prison ;) than the shops start opening until midnight. Christmas is well and truly upon us, overpowering us, seizing our minds, our money and our time.


I have very mixed feelings about Christmas. I love the ideal: snow, sleigh bells, twinkling lights, crisp air, carol singers, roaring fires, games of charades, tidings of comfort and joy. But the reality (aside from my allergy to roaring fires) of the preparations slightly overwhelms the event.

By the time I've done the cards and the presents (posted and wrapped), I have to admit, I feel I’ve done Christmas. The day itself lies ahead in my mind all wrapped-up in a sense of foreboding.

Each and every year, I think about escaping. But something stops me. Perhaps I would feel I’d bottled-out. And perhaps, if I did run away, despite all my griping, I might actually find I’d missed out ... on the annual frisson of fear, panic and, okay (I’m sure it WILL be okay), fun and laughter and joy. :)


EDIT: After re-reading this post, I realised that a couple of sentences, meant in jest, didn’t quite work. I’ve now deleted the paragraph that made me sound worse than Scrooge!!!

7 comments:

Fox Lee said...

We drssed the dog up for the holidays. It's a great stress reliever!

Cate Gardner said...

Love that picture.

Mary said...

Natalie - good advice! One of my sisters has a big old beast of a bulldog that's as soft as a lamb. Will dress him up tomorrow. :)

Cate - isn’t it great? And the traffic would be in chaos. ;)

Stuart Neville said...

I'm sorry I missed the Scrooge paragraph, now! :(

Mary said...

Sorry, Stuart! What a mess I’ve made of this post. My excuse is Pre-Christmas Stress Disorder. ;)

Whirlochre said...

Deleting paragraphs and keeping them to yourself. You meanie.

Mary said...

Please forgive me, Whirl. Though this undoubtedly confirms what many have long suspected: I AM Scrooge! OMG!!