And so it begins. The technical difficulties are resolved and we rejoin This Journey already in progress…

I have hit the peak of “bah humbug” -ness for someone who actually celebrates the Feast of the Incarnation (a.k.a. Christmas). The house is a wreck, the tree went up last night and still isn’t decorated. We’re having pot roast for dinner after I get back from Round 1 of church. Last night DS1 asked “when people are coming over.” No one is coming over. It’s just the four of us. We’ll play CatchPhrase or Dominoes or something until I have to go back to church for Round 2.

This is a low stress, low activity Christmas. All the crazy will happen on the 29th when DH’s sons and DILs come. I’m not even sure what we’ll eat for that yet. He says ham. Maybe he’s right. But there are no mountains of packages to wrap and open. No piles of cookies to bake and put on the hips. Not even any special booze to wash it down with.

And the thing is: none of these people at Chez Journey seem to care. I don’t know if they really do and are hiding it, in good passive aggressive Minnesota Nice fashion, or if they haven’t noticed yet, or if they just actually don’t give a damn. Me? I miss the twinkle lights a little. And the fun of planning something. But I’m just too worn out to really care that it didn’t happen this year. I don’t know if that means I’m in the depths of a despair or if I am just being realistic. All of that festivity costs money. Money we simply don’t have this year. Without meaning to protest anything we are celebrating a “buy nothing” Christmas.

This doesn’t mean we won’t celebrate together – we’re just so far out of the consumerist stream of the celebration that this year looks very, very different. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Hoping that you have a wonderful, warm Christmas celebration with those you love.