Me and Christmas

Over the years I have eased my way right out of Christmas. I'm free of bling, free of shopping, free of all of it. And, honestly, the only part of Christmas that I give a bit of effort to is the consuming of Christmas cookies.

It's not an anti-Christmas it's more of a lack of interest and it's from the horror of Christmases past, either.

Christmas when I was a kid was great. Mother and, especially Daddy, really got into it. And since the fallout was goodies, I got into it, too. College and after years I went to Mother and Daddy's Christmas. It was boring but the food was good.

My last Christmas at home wasn't terrible but it did convince me that I didn't need to do that any more. My brother and his first wife (who were barely speaking to each other). They had two tiny children who were way to small to grasp the holiday but well old enough to be very annoying. I was married and waiting until the holidays were over to start divorce proceedings.

When I got my divorce I gave myself two presents. One was my first computer and the second one was freedom from any holiday spent with any family. (Years later, after Daddy died, I compromised for Thanksgiving with Mom.)

There were the Earl years. He was an occasional friend and we 'did' the Carribean. Every Christmas we'd pick a new island and spend the holiday there.

Then there were the John years. John is a good friend and for the first 8 years I lived in Seattle he came to visit from California for Christmas. He was the greatest Christmas gift. No decorations needed. And he knows better than to expect me to cook anything or eat anything I might accidently cook. So we spent Christmas going to movies, trying and rating all the best restaurants in town and in between, I took him for every penny in gin rummy. Then he went to work on the Olympics and spent the next Christmas in Sydney. He fell in love it with. He's now in a new job in California but still goes to Sydney every year for Christmas.

I have weened everyone I know off of the gift exchange gravy train.

So now I just kind of watch Christmas go by. I stay out of stores which saves me a ton of money and I grab whatever cookies come near me. I tire quickly of Christmas crap taking over my regular TV programs, but that's a nit. Mainly, I'm just happy that I don't have to participate and get a few days off.

Me and Christmas

Over the years I have eased my way right out of Christmas. I'm free of bling, free of shopping, free of all of it. And, honestly, the only part of Christmas that I give a bit of effort to is the consuming of Christmas cookies.

It's not an anti-Christmas it's more of a lack of interest and it's from the horror of Christmases past, either.

Christmas when I was a kid was great. Mother and, especially Daddy, really got into it. And since the fallout was goodies, I got into it, too. College and after years I went to Mother and Daddy's Christmas. It was boring but the food was good.

My last Christmas at home wasn't terrible but it did convince me that I didn't need to do that any more. My brother and his first wife (who were barely speaking to each other). They had two tiny children who were way to small to grasp the holiday but well old enough to be very annoying. I was married and waiting until the holidays were over to start divorce proceedings.

When I got my divorce I gave myself two presents. One was my first computer and the second one was freedom from any holiday spent with any family. (Years later, after Daddy died, I compromised for Thanksgiving with Mom.)

There were the Earl years. He was an occasional friend and we 'did' the Carribean. Every Christmas we'd pick a new island and spend the holiday there.

Then there were the John years. John is a good friend and for the first 8 years I lived in Seattle he came to visit from California for Christmas. He was the greatest Christmas gift. No decorations needed. And he knows better than to expect me to cook anything or eat anything I might accidently cook. So we spent Christmas going to movies, trying and rating all the best restaurants in town and in between, I took him for every penny in gin rummy. Then he went to work on the Olympics and spent the next Christmas in Sydney. He fell in love it with. He's now in a new job in California but still goes to Sydney every year for Christmas.

I have weened everyone I know off of the gift exchange gravy train.

So now I just kind of watch Christmas go by. I stay out of stores which saves me a ton of money and I grab whatever cookies come near me. I tire quickly of Christmas crap taking over my regular TV programs, but that's a nit. Mainly, I'm just happy that I don't have to participate and get a few days off.