Tis the season to be frazzled

December 15th, 2009 at 11:56pm Kelly Epperson

     That doesn’t sound like fun. Shouldn’t the holidays be enjoyed?

     Making a list and checking it twice (and remembering to take it with you when you leave the house) is a good tool to keep the frantic pace to a steady hum. While you are hustling and bustling around town making sure all the naughty and nice loved ones on your list get their gifts or lump of coal, take a few breaths and gift yourself. Treat yourself to a massage or pedicure. Buy a new CD for dancing in your car or while you wrap or bake. Make the time to get together in the flesh with those you really want to see, and do not feel guilty about saying no to invites that do not bring you glad tidings of joy.

     Don’t forget to eat, drink, and be merry. Seriously, I sometimes am so wrapped up in my errands that I forget to eat. Then I get cranky. Put it on the list: eat. And eat something besides cookies. Drink the good stuff, but all things in moderation. I love egg nog and Grandma’s spiked punch, but there is a time and a place (and a Designated Driver on the list).

     The most important part of the holidays, and the most overlooked, is Be Merry. Laugh. Relax. Enjoy. Take a few things/errands/events off the list so you can have time to be jolly. The holidays should not be duty and obligation. Make new traditions and if that means you stay at home instead of driving five hours, so be it.

     Think about what you do because you want to and what you do because you think you should. Eliminate some of the “shoulds” and see if your frazzled feelings fade away. If the holidays are intended to be holy days, what is sacred about running around like crazy people?

     Many people say they “got through” the holidays, like an obstacle course to be survived. Instead of enduring the days of December, find new ways to ENJOY the holidays.  Maintain a sense of humor and a sense of calm, and odds are that your days will indeed be merry and bright. Peace to you and yours.

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