Wednesday, December 20, 2006

the last

the last

Today is officially the last day of school before the holiday break. (Did I just offend someone by not saying Christmas break? Pffft all this political correctness is on my last friggin' nerve!) So anyway, I now have 5 kids in the house non-stop until next year. I'm not really looking forward to it. My kids either ram and race, or bicker and gripe, 24/7, and I'm afraid I can't handle it. I'm already just feeling... overwhelmed, over loaded, over stimulated... over it.

You know, there are only 122 hours until Christmas is over? I hate the way we stress out over Christmas, how we've bought into the materialistic version of it all. There's so little joy, because there's too much worry about money and expectations, too much argument about what the holiday means to you or to me and whose definition is right. Too many kids with high dollar 'hot' items on their lists that I can't afford. Too much guilt about the emptiness of my wallet. I'm sick of all that... and more.

I'd love nothing more than to forego all that. To get back to the whole 'joy of giving' concept, and the appreciation of family and friends, the compassion and ... I don't now... fewer commercials, less weight on the value and size of the pile under the damned tree. (Ours is too small, and doesn't contain enough of those popular "in" gifts, as always.) I just don't know how to switch channels in the middle of 5 kids' lives.

I've teased for years about becoming Jehova's Witnesses for years because they don't celebrate the holiday - not in any material way anyway. If it weren't for the way that door-to-door god-sales bothered me, I might even do it too.

2 comments:

  1. ah dear erin / welcome to the mothers with too many children club

    i feel your pain e / lol


    please tho / don't be come a jw

    that would / just be / bad form / lol


    i'm just look ing for ward to
    tomorrow / solstice / so we can
    shift back to the light a gain


    we have xmz on monday
    our annual boxing day party on tuesday
    (give or take a couple hundred guests)
    no / i'm not stress ing @ all / /

    and then / i fly with garry to vegas
    on thursday / for new years / he works
    i find things to do / but i think
    a nice break from the 6 little angels

    i'm going to meet prince / it's true
    so i'm excited but sick to my stomach
    i just hope he doesn't hand me a
    watch tower / lol / / now / that would
    be bad form / don't you think? ;)

    any ways e / try not to stress to much
    this time next week it will all be over /

    @ least that's what i keep telling my self / / oiy vay

    take care sweet girl

    have a happy holiday / i'm think ing
    about you

    ~jx

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  2. I hear you E. I've only got one kid, and his expectations are fairly low, but I still feel the pressure to fill the space under the tree, and to empty the already fairly small space in my wallet.

    I promise that your kids will not be scarred for life by not getting everything on their list this year, or any year. As a matter of fact, they'll probably be better for it.

    Somewhere beyond the consumerism, I know that you have raised your kids with the right moral messages. They're hiding in there beneath the "gimmie's".

    Love you

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