Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Christmas Time is Here ~ whether we want it to be or not

I hate this time of year, I don't know why but every year I seem to get more and more irriatated with the whole "Christmas rush". Mabye it's from working in retail for way to many years or mabye it's all those damn marketing campains. Once the American thanksgiving is over the push is on for Christmas (actually it's been on here in Canada since October, after our thanksgiving which is way worse). You get to see all the stores putting up their decorations and put on all there deals. Here in our area we have our annual "Midnight Maddness" & Victorian Christmas, it's maddness alright you couldn't get me near our sad excuse of a shopping mall. I hate all the bussle and people, that is that last place I would want to be. And to top all that off I am not an early shopper, in fact I wouldn't buy anything at all if I didn't have such a big in-law family which I feel obligated to buy for as they always get us something or other. My husband has four brother's and sister's and two nephews and two neices, which I hate buying for as it's so hard to know what they need & want it just makes me want to pull out my hair and throw a tantram. I just don't want to shop, wrap, deliver and all that crap. No thank you.

My husband on the other hand is the reverse of me. I swear to god he has had our decorations out since a month ago. He lights up just like a kid every time he hears a christmas song and he has been planning our (I should just say his, cause I can never keep up....) annual drunk fest on christmas eve night. I am expecting to come home any night this week to see our christmas tree in our living room. He just about had a breakdown last year when I took our tree down on boxing day (a trait I get from my father, i'm sure). That's another thing I hate why do we kill a perfectly decent tree to display in our home for a month while it dry's all up and dies. I have severe allergies and by the time christmas does roll around I am in agony, but it's tradition blah blah blah bullshit! Just call me the grinch :)

Just give me time with my family and friends and that's all I care about, which is what it should be about. Enjoying our time with our loved ones while we are here on this beautiful earth. That's one memory I have about my gram she would always always come over to our house (we just lived right down the road from her) and watch my sister and I open our gifts. I can see her sitting in a chair watching us and smiling. The last few years (when we surpassed 16 or so) she would usually just call or we would go to her and see what she had gotten for gifts. I am going to miss that this year, when everything was happening last week that's one thing that kept coming back to hit me is that she wouldn't be around for christmas this year. Mind you she was the one person that I always always used to hate to buy for, she was always so picky/fussy. she didn't like candles (which I love), I didn't know her taste in jewelry so I always would resort to something for her feet, which I knew she would use because she always had problems with her feet. funny how things, stupid things stay with you. i'm so sorry for resenting you last year and i'm sorry for not being there more when I lived so close and i'm sorry you won't be here this year.

Season's greetings to all! There's only 23 shopping days left so get out there and shop and charge up those credit cards I know I will be!

Ta Ta ~ H

1 comment:

flea said...

oh Jodi you are just so sweet, so like your mom! I know, I know I hate the mom reference to but in your case you should be proud & grateful/honoured. I LOVE your mom/my auntie Marilyn she's always so positive and upbeat, I need to be more like that and not such a negative nelly. Which I generally am - sad but true! I don't think I know anyone who is truly as happy, gracious, kind, sympathic, always there when you need her type of aunt. She is truly a beautiful person and I can see a lot of her in you because you are all of those too.

I can't belive you have a list actually on paper. I will need to try that, all these years i've been relying on my poor head! time to give it a much needed break I should say.

I will try to enjoy this christmas but it will be quite hard to do i'm sure. I usually don't get the warm fuzzy feeling until about Dec 23 or so then to me it feels good to be christmas.

anyways enough for now....another long one bites the dust. I hope everyone will keep in touch via this as well, just to update on their lives or to just blab away like me. ttyl :)