Like many others I suppose, right as we start to slide in to Thanksgiving I start anticipating the joys of the holidays. Before long our neighbors are putting up their lights and Santa pigs and all, and I start to really settle in for a nice season.
Yes, there’s the peace and love and family and all that, but there’s so much more. I think peace is a nice idea and everything, but it doesn’t necessarily trump the joys of two or three weeks of absolutely no traffic. On a good day we were getting downtown in 16.5 minutes. Not that we keep track or try to set a record or anything.
Also, the holidays are a time when nearly everyone eats the same way I do all year-long; a little more of that, a little taste of this, and yes I’m on my 3rd dessert, you wanna make something of it? For a few short weeks I feel slightly less guilty about having a side of brownie with my cookie.
I also happily anticipate getting a little time off; Christmas, New Year’s and the truly excellent week in between when although I’m working, there are lots fewer people in the office to get on my nerves and constantly disrupt my day. I’ve already opined on the joys of jeans week, but let’s not forget that’s the icing on the cake.
And then in a snap it’s over. Traffic is worse than ever, everyone goes on a freakin’ diet and I need to pick up my real clothes from the dry cleaner. I have no choice but to finally respond to one email after the other that says “Enjoy the holidays and let’s deal with all this in the New Year!” Ugh. All those things I could push aside for a couple of weeks on the theory that everyone but me is on vacation. I think it’s only fair that I indulge in some post-holiday blues for a week or so. But at a certain point, right around now, enough is enough.
And just as I’m snapping out of my blues and back to my perky perky self, there is one thing that keeps haunting me, reminding me of the good times we all just had. Why is the Santa pig still on display? Why do people still have their full light display glowing every evening? Is that flamingo up the street still ice skating? Everything that seemed so charming a week ago now annoys the hell out of me.
I know there are two schools of thought on this, because of course Dan disagrees completely. It’s reassuring for us to argue about whether or not the lights are still charming and if they should come down on January 2 or closer to St. Patrick’s day because we obviously need to argue about something or life would be pretty boring.
I’m just ready to move on with my life. Is it Valentine’s Day yet? I’m hoping those are some heart-shaped blinking lights I see up ahead.