Must Be The Season Of The Binch

Every holiday season I go from excitement to nostalgia, to the feeling of wanting to help everyone and reach out because the holidays are HARD on a lot of people, to being barraged by messages of everyone looking for help and donations and prayers for SO MANY things and people, to becoming overwhelmed and eventually just shutting down and hating everything again, from the stress of ALL THE holiday THINGS.

That usually doesn't happen until about mid-Decemberish, but here I am before even December 1st singing "You're a mean one, Mrs. Binch" to myself.

My spirit animal. Bitch + grinch = Binch.

It's not surprising. I haven't been handling my stress well. Add holiday stuff and a few other truly depressing Life-ings, and it was bound to happen. I just didn't think it would be this soon.

I am trying. I'm doing the work. This year we got our family photo out of the way in November, as we intend to every year but usually don't. The teenager has been working for cash (I know, I tried to tell him) on some side job that's keeping him really busy. He came right out and said he doesn't want to try to be in the photo. Which sucks, but also? That means we can strap on some Christmas Nikes and just do it. It's done. The 2 yr old is literally holding a bag of freaking cereal in the picture, and she wouldn't sit WITH us so there is a separate picture of the girls and of us, but whatever, it's done. Maybe some day we'll laugh about that. Next thing.

We should have just used THIS picture and been done.
I always make them kiss, it's the ONLY WAY to make them
hold still long enough to take a picture that isn't blurry.

Thankfully we had the foresight to get our Christmas tree up early. The youngest has said about 55 times, "Thanks for my Christmas tree, Mom and Dad!" Totally worth the effort. 

So REAL-looking isn't it? Real plastic.
The Charlie Brown tree of fake Xmas trees

2 years ago we waited and procrastinated so long we never put up more than a tiny tabletop tree. Lame. Last year we were scrambling and it was stressful instead of fun. And it immediately fell over, but our old tree has been through a lot. 

I've had it for at least 15 years and my dad had fished it out of the garbage, so it already had a full life of it's own before entering mine. Like so many of my housewares. 

Here is one of my favorite Daddy-Dumpster-Dive decorations, a decades old light-up Santa. Hideous yes, but I just had to plug in and hang it on the window. This year I plugged it and discovered it doesn't work *sad trumpet music* 

This looks a LOT like Stinky Pete the Prospector from Toy Story 2

Yes, I could probably just check each bulb and replace whichever one doesn't work and maybe then they would all work. That's about as likely as Santa coming down our chimney. Our chimney is no doubt cemented shut since we have a furnace. I assume Santa sends a small elf in through a drain pipe. Or if he's smart uses actual magic, like "Accio present" to poof presents where they need to be. Wouldn't that be more environmentally friendly and less animal cruelty for reindeer?

I'm thankful we were able to get out and finally meet up with a friend I've been trying to see since SUMMER.

Thankfully, we got to see the Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo. That was lovely, and we could not have asked for a better day weather-wise in Chicago. It was just over 50 degrees! For almost December, that's practically surfing weather. 

More Zoo Lights pictures on my Instagram if you like that kind of thing

We were also at the zoo in the dark, which is really cool if you've never been. We got to see gorillas sleeping. It was very odd, they looked comatose on their beds of hay. With all the noise and kids tapping on glass, and even a few jerks taking FLASH photos, they didn't wake up. Just laid there with their giant arms, legs and sausage fingers laying about. 

No, just thought I would look and this was funny. from funny-pics.co

One youngin even had his or her legs folded up under it's arms. It looked cool, but the photo didn't turn out without flash and I didn't want to use the flash and start a Planet of the Apes situation.

I'm beyond thankful Thanksgiving is over. Ironically. For me, the day AFTER Thanksgiving is the real holiday: Cooking is over, we have tons of leftovers and paper plates, which my budget and American waste-producing guilt won't usually let me use. 

Nice try. I use PAPER. That burns right up and kills zero birds and fish. Probably.

But the day after a big party? You bet your giblets I'm using them. It's kind of glorious, the leftover pie for breakfast on a plate I don't have to wash. It's the closest I'll ever get to that feeling of holiday magic we used to have as kids, but as parents, specifically the COOKING parent, you never get again. 

I'm thankful we didn't drink the wine I bought for Thanksgiving until today. It's pairing nicely with my crabby mood and today's turkey soup, which thankfully marks the last of the turkey leftovers. 

If you're not a gravy fan, that dry meat is hard enough to choke down the day you cook it and each day it just gets worse. 

I usually make turkey pot pie but my son hasn't been around so other than a few sammiches with tomatoes, it's all rice and veggie soup.  Done.

I'm trying to focus on the thankfuls. That's the key to this season. Don't do more than you need to, or you'll make yourself a grinch.

This post was part of the Ten Things of Thankful experience. 

A reminder about holiday stress and suggestions for coping:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20047544