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It's beginning to look a lot like Stress-mas

It’s that time of year again. Seemingly out of nowhere Christmas season is upon us and like every other year, this year I swore it wasn’t going to creep up on me. But it has.

It’s that time of year again. Seemingly out of nowhere Christmas season is upon us and like every other year, this year I swore it wasn’t going to creep up on me. But it has.

Somewhere between no longer being a child and having children I began to realize exactly how much work goes into this season that is supposed to be festive, merry and bright. The amount of anxiety we actually pile on ourselves during an already busy time of year is astounding.

As if shopping for the perfect gifts, wrapping them, cooking a huge meal and tolerating fighting relatives isn’t enough. We, the modern day Christmas celebrators, add on an enormous amount of additional tasks. Crafts, gift exchanges, decorating and my personal piece de resistance; the Christmas cookie exchange. Who in their right mind invented this ritual of baking dozens of delicious cookies to exchange them with folks, some of them strangers whose cookies are less than delicious? C’mon, I know you’ve all been to an exchange to which you’ve brought delightful dainties and been sent home with crummy cookies that you’ve promptly thrown in the garbage.

After decking the halls and before the cookie exchange some of us even send out a Christmas letter. Lately I’ve used our annual Christmas letter to remind us how little our lives have changed over the past five years. Basically all I need to do is adjust the date, children’s ages and viola, done. One of the most amusing parts of the holiday season is when a recipient of our Christmas card thanks my husband for the letter and he says, with a puzzled look on his face, “Letter? What letter?”

This week as I scurried around looking for the perfect Christmas jammies for The Princess and racked my brain thinking of what to buy The Boy, I paused for a moment and wondered, is it a coincidence that not one single popular Christmas carol was written by a woman? There is no way that women would have the time to write about their chestnuts roasting by an open fire during the holiday season. Ladies, could it be that God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen isn’t just a carol, it’s almost like a theme song.

Most, if not all famous characters surrounding the holiday season are also men. Rudolph, Ebenezer, The Kings, The Wisemen, Baby Jesus, and Santa. All men. Why? Maybe because the women were so busy they couldn’t possibly have made time for any additional press or public appearances.

Speaking of the big guy in the red suit… He’s got elves making his toys and Mrs. Claus keeping the homefires burning, leaving Santa with nothing but time on his hands. Time he fills with sitting in big fancy chairs at the mall having his picture taken with delighted children and leading parades all across the world. Then, one evening a year, he puts in an all-nighter and a hero is born.

So as I wish everyone a happy holiday season, I have a special shout out to those women who take the time to make the season extra special for their families and others around them. It’s not easy task but someone’s got to do it!


Airdrie Today Staff

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