Home for the Holidays

Therapy Tuesday
Photo by: dcjohn

The holidays are this utopian time of year...in our minds. Few celebrations match the expectations that we begin to mount each January. After 12 months of build-up, how could they match our imaginings?

The holiday rush is such a mixed bag to start with. It's a time when we are all rushed in order to get the best deals on gifts that we may or may not need. Ones that we may or may not be able to afford. And yet it's also this time of year when we are supposed to be extra gentle and kind to one another. I've yet to see someone let another person take the last "Magical Elmo Xbox" or whatever the toy of the year is.

The holidays also tend to be a "homecoming" of sorts. You check in with family that you haven't seen for most of the year. Or old friends. This can be a time of self-comparasion, and sometimes, we don't like how we measure up.

So how can we survive and even perhaps, dare I say, thrive--during this time of year? 

Step Number 1: MANAGE your expectations.  If grandma drinks a lot every year, why should this year be different? So tweak what you expect, and try to align it with reality.

Step Number 2: LAUGH. Holiday mess-ups become the family lore of the future. Yes, the turkey was burnt, so the house smelled horrible, but in a few years, everyone will be fighting to tell their rendition of the story.

Step Number 3: You can't PICK your family. For better or for worse, family is not of your choosing. This will always be a limitation. Friends can be your family of choice.

Step Number 4: PREPARE statements. Will Great Uncle Ted ask about your job search that isn't going very well? Plan now for how you will choose to answer that question, rather than letting it blindside you at the table.

Hopefully, these four hints can be helpful, as we say goodbye to 2010. See you next year! 

Comments

[Kristie Taylor]

I am so jealous of people in the southern hemisphere who get to celebrate the holidays in the middle of summer. I always imagine that I would be much better prepared for them in the summer!