Dear Ashby,
Every year there's a mad dash beginning at Halloween and ending 2 months later. It entails cleaning, cooking, shopping, traveling and having a to-do list twice as long as my legs in-hand at any given time, except when I'm at the store or running errands and I need it. This my child, is what we call the holidays....well some of us call it the holidays and other people get mad about that. 'The holidays' can include any or all of the following: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas and New Years...there may be more but I'm not aware of them.
Some people think that calling it the holidays or saying 'happy holidays' is a insult to Christians, but I think it's more of a 'Pop, Soda, or Coke' kind of scenario. When you're in Cincinnati, it's 'pop', when you're in New York or just about anywhere Northeast of Ohio, it's 'soda', and when you're down South, it's 'Coke', or 'Pepsi'...but no matter how you say it, they are carbonated beverages.
The reason that some people say it's offensive is because retailers tell their employees not to say 'Merry Christmas' because not everyone celebrates Christmas and it may offend a patron. I'm sure that's possible, not in South Carolina but somewhere I'm sure! I often wonder why they are patronizing places that hold such contrary beliefs to their own, maybe they'd be better off to shop somewhere else instead of getting mad about it. I can't have any extra agitation this time of year, it's stressful enough getting my to-do list done. So, I don't get offended when someone says 'happy holidays.' It's always better than giving me the finger or cutting me off in traffic (which is more common around the holidays). It seems kind of silly to me that loving thy neighbor by wishing them well would enrage anyone...maybe it's flawed thinking, but I'm going to stand by it.
What do the holidays mean for you?
Lets start with our trip to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving:
1. New Movies: On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the library has an incredibly poor selection of scratched DVD's. So I added 'buy new DVD's for trip' to the To-Do list (which really means go to the used bookstore and grab the $3.00 previously viewed DVD's, but nonetheless still a win for you).
2. I 'found' your Nintendo DS: I put DS games out there as a gift idea for the family...but your DS has been missing for months. It thought was a horrible idea to buy you one right before Christmas, so I 'found' it at a pawn shop for $70.00. I didn't want to feel like I was spoiling you, so I told you that I found it...yeah, I know it doesn't make much sense (win #2).
3. You inevitably get more junk food: This happens because like any good opportunist, you see a chance and take it. I'm often too distracted to say 'no' when traveling or multi-tasking (win #3).
4. You inevitably get away with more: You scream from the back seat with your headphones on, "TURN IT DOWN, I can't hear my movie!!!' Then I yell back, "NO, turn your movie up! I've already turned this down and I can barely hear it!" Then I realize that the first 2 times you yelled it, I did turn it down! You were yelling at me and it worked! (Win #4-instead of a long winded lecture on how to talk to adults and other people in general from your mother while in time-out, yellling actually works). Not sure why I was surprised that you've used 'No!' on me since we've been back....
I suppose we both behave badly around the holidays intermittently. And because I'm stressed sometimes, so are you. I'm sorry for that and I will continue to work on it. Despite the stress, I believe that it's the most wonderful time of the year because I get to experience it with you.
Love,
Mom
Every year there's a mad dash beginning at Halloween and ending 2 months later. It entails cleaning, cooking, shopping, traveling and having a to-do list twice as long as my legs in-hand at any given time, except when I'm at the store or running errands and I need it. This my child, is what we call the holidays....well some of us call it the holidays and other people get mad about that. 'The holidays' can include any or all of the following: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas and New Years...there may be more but I'm not aware of them.
Some people think that calling it the holidays or saying 'happy holidays' is a insult to Christians, but I think it's more of a 'Pop, Soda, or Coke' kind of scenario. When you're in Cincinnati, it's 'pop', when you're in New York or just about anywhere Northeast of Ohio, it's 'soda', and when you're down South, it's 'Coke', or 'Pepsi'...but no matter how you say it, they are carbonated beverages.
The reason that some people say it's offensive is because retailers tell their employees not to say 'Merry Christmas' because not everyone celebrates Christmas and it may offend a patron. I'm sure that's possible, not in South Carolina but somewhere I'm sure! I often wonder why they are patronizing places that hold such contrary beliefs to their own, maybe they'd be better off to shop somewhere else instead of getting mad about it. I can't have any extra agitation this time of year, it's stressful enough getting my to-do list done. So, I don't get offended when someone says 'happy holidays.' It's always better than giving me the finger or cutting me off in traffic (which is more common around the holidays). It seems kind of silly to me that loving thy neighbor by wishing them well would enrage anyone...maybe it's flawed thinking, but I'm going to stand by it.
What do the holidays mean for you?
Lets start with our trip to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving:
1. New Movies: On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the library has an incredibly poor selection of scratched DVD's. So I added 'buy new DVD's for trip' to the To-Do list (which really means go to the used bookstore and grab the $3.00 previously viewed DVD's, but nonetheless still a win for you).
2. I 'found' your Nintendo DS: I put DS games out there as a gift idea for the family...but your DS has been missing for months. It thought was a horrible idea to buy you one right before Christmas, so I 'found' it at a pawn shop for $70.00. I didn't want to feel like I was spoiling you, so I told you that I found it...yeah, I know it doesn't make much sense (win #2).
3. You inevitably get more junk food: This happens because like any good opportunist, you see a chance and take it. I'm often too distracted to say 'no' when traveling or multi-tasking (win #3).
4. You inevitably get away with more: You scream from the back seat with your headphones on, "TURN IT DOWN, I can't hear my movie!!!' Then I yell back, "NO, turn your movie up! I've already turned this down and I can barely hear it!" Then I realize that the first 2 times you yelled it, I did turn it down! You were yelling at me and it worked! (Win #4-instead of a long winded lecture on how to talk to adults and other people in general from your mother while in time-out, yellling actually works). Not sure why I was surprised that you've used 'No!' on me since we've been back....
I suppose we both behave badly around the holidays intermittently. And because I'm stressed sometimes, so are you. I'm sorry for that and I will continue to work on it. Despite the stress, I believe that it's the most wonderful time of the year because I get to experience it with you.
Love,
Mom
No comments:
Post a Comment