Take the pressure down!

Cause I can feel it! It's rising like a storm!

It's been rising since late September when the decorations hit the stores and the push to start Christmas shopping began. Don't get me wrong, I am no Grinch, I love Christmas, but it really has lost a lot of meaning and I am not just talking about the commercialism. That goes without saying. Red and green pamphlets start arriving in the mail, telling us what we "must have" at Christmas this year, what million dollar toy is going to enrich your child's life!

One of the biggest pressures on people though, is family. Now for the record, I have a fantastic family, 2 of them in fact! I will be seeing them all at Christmas time, but this year, we're spreading it out over Christmas and Boxing day. I thought this would alleviate all the pressure to be here, be there, see this person and that etc etc, but it has brought a whole new set of issues! We are seeing Andy's family on Christmas day and then my family on Boxing day. Both days will have the same proceedings; present opening, laughter, togetherness, food, pudding, wine, tinsel and Dad's aged anywhere between 30 and 85 falling asleep in chairs. (Only my family will have the Mario Lanza Christmas album though!) but they will just occur one day apart.

I now have people looking at me with great sadness written on their faces saying "You parents are going to be all alone on Christmas day!"
Yep, they are. They're all alone today, but that seems to be ok. They'll be all alone on the 27th, but that's ok too. On the 5th of March, 14th of November, 23rd of August....there'll probably just be the two of them those days as well, but that's ok, because it's not the 25th of December! Sure, if I wasn't seeing them at all, if they were going to be all alone for the whole season, then I would feel bad, but Andy and I, my brother and his wife, my two nephews, my eccentric uncle and our mate Luke are all going to be there on the 26th.....and if nobody looks at the calendar, nobody will know any different!