02 December 2013

Anticipation and Celebration

December is all about anticipation for me.  Christmastime is my favorite time of the year, and I think part of it is that it's nearly an entire month of happy anticipation, followed by celebration.

A lot of people don't enjoy December, Christmastime, or anything about it. Which is up to them, though it really annoys me when they have to tell you every single time you see them or talk to them.  We all know someone who falls into this category, and we all have to listen to them, regardless of our feelings about things.

It occurred to me today that for a lot of aspects of my life, I have decided for myself the way things are, and I work hard to follow my patterns and beliefs that I have devised.  I am also good at compartmentalizing things.  For instance, when Christmas decorations go up at stores immediately after Halloween, I have no trouble ignoring them altogether.  Because Thanksgiving comes first, and should never be eclipsed by Christmas, as far as my beliefs go, so those way-too-early decorations are compartmentalized in a place where they are completely ignored.  I can then easily enjoy Halloween, anticipate and enjoy Thanksgiving, and only then give any serious attention to Christmastime.

It's all part of my own "rules" and it works for me.  I guess I enjoy holidays so much, that I don't want any of them to be cheated out of their special-ness.

This year, I'm not going to go out of my way to be rude, but I'm going to ignore the  holiday grouches.  They can be miserable, angry, frustrated, or morally superior to their hearts' content, and I am not going to stick around for it.  Life is too short to allow others with no Christmas spirit to decide the atmosphere for everyone.

Christmastime only comes around once a year.  And every bit of it is worth my time.



12 comments:

sprite said...

Amen!

pam said...

Exactly!

Nancy said...

Perfect -- enjoy!

Patty said...

I agree! Though I do get rattled because things seem to always come down to the last minute which is no fun at all!

Literary Feline said...

I really like this time of year as well. :-)

kathy b said...

awww, I LOVE December..every day of it. ANd New years too! Im waiting for snow….
OUr tree went up today! ho hoho

Lorraine said...

Bridget- It's almost like we're meant to feel bad about the things we like.

Doesn't make sense.

Danette Bartelmay said...

Hello Bridget~
I don't know if you remember me but I used to follow your blog a few years ago when I had a different blog. Then I quit blogging for awhile and am back now. So happy to find you again!
I am with you. I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS! And December 17th is my wedding anniversary. Just one more reason to love the month. This year we celebrate our 30th :)
~Danette

Mereknits said...

I think you might have to ignore me!!!! I am feeling a tad grouchy about all that needs to be done, and the lack of time to do it.,

Okay, I had better get busy.
Meredith

SuperCutePetContest said...

Hear, hear! You gotta do what feels right for you.

KSD said...

Couldn't agree more. My mother was an "I-don't-like-Christmas"er. Maybe my adoration of Christmas was a reaction to that.

Kym said...

My philosophy, exactly! Although I sometimes stress myself to the max in December, I'm working to relax and enjoy. Because the holidays are wonderful. December is wonderful. And we only get it once a year. Enjoy every moment!