filed in Holiday Cheer
Do I Have To Be Merry?
I find this one of the more challenging weekends of the year. As everyone shifts into festive holiday mode, it’s hard not to feel the pressure to be merry. In an earlier post, I outlined my strategy of plunging headlong into cooking, which is what I’ll be doing in the coming days. But I still have a few holes in my social calendar. I might head for the movies or a museum. In any case, I appreciate your cyber company, and wish you all a sparkly weekend.
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19 comments for “Do I Have To Be Merry?”
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Me too, I sure appreciate your blog. Merry Christmas!
hoping you find a little sparkle too, and maybe even some joy, even if it’s quiet joy. thanks for the company all year round.
I LOVE your blog/commentary from a single perspective. Do I have to be merry, absolutely not but it helps. This is the time of the year I would like to be able to take an exotic vacation beginning the day after Thanksgiving and retunring Jan 3 or so. Hasn’t happened yet …..
That has always been my fantasy too, Bobbi. Just being out of town for the entire season. But in lieu of that, I’ve learned some good survivor skills, and now I get through it pretty well.
Wendy, your blog is a lifesaver for those of us still adjusting to being single after 20 plus years of being married. In fact, today would have been my 22nd wedding anniversary. Funny how that fact no longer bothers me–best thing to ever happen to me was my divorce. I digress. It is nice to know you and so many single ladies are out there to connect with. I will be online off and on all weekend with my online divorce support group and I will be checking in here just to say hi.
Thanks Paulette for being a part of the conversation.
I’m not a holiday hater, but it does get to be a little much around this time of year. I enjoy a little sparkle and merriment, but it starts entirely too early and lasts too long. My strategy is to participate when it’s important, but remember take time to do what I want as well – even if what I want is a nap. Naps are a legitimate use of vacation time. Thanks for the blog and best wishes for the holiday season.
I just came back from the movies (Zero Dark Thirty) and I’m about to start prepping my shorts ribs for Christmas dinner. They have to be seasoned the night before, then braised. And then sit for 24 hours. It’s been a fun day.
Love your blog. Hope you enjoy the quiet time and the social time. Happy holidays and wish you a wonderful new year!
I appreciate your good wishes, Cathy. It really means a lot!
I’m having a little bit of anxiety over being surrounded by all the happily married relatives (some younger than me) and the dreaded questions about plans for New Year’s Eve (do I have to have any?), but overall I’m looking forward to time off from work and having some fun and laughs with family.
Best wishes for happy cooking–I have to go do some of that, too!
I’m not quite ready to deal with New Year’s Eve. First step, getting through Christmas.
How is everyone doing? So far so good for me. Baking has been a good mood lifter. Yesterday I made gingerbread, I splurged this morning and made fresh pancakes for myself with blueberries. I have my homemade marinara sauce ready for the spaghetti and vegan calamari I plan to have tonight (along with jumbo vegan shrimp cocktail). And I will treat myself to a nice wine to go along with it all. In fact, I have a spiced wine I found at a wine festival several months back. I will be sure to toast everyone who is alone this holiday. We may have our sad moments–let them come, they will pass, they really do–but we can have our moments of peace as well. Find joy in the small things–like watching squirrels play and fancy among bare winter tree branches, like I do from my balcony. That is how I get through the holidays.
That should read squirrels play and dance–darn autocorrect or clumsy fingers, I don’t know which. I’m working with my Ipad this morning.
I’ve been reading this blog for a almost a year now, but this is the first time I’ve decided to comment. I want to say ‘thank you’, Wendy. I knew I could turn to this blog today (on Christmas Eve) and find comfort in the fact that there are others that are met with the same challenges as I am, during the holidays.
Janine – how did your Christmas go? I’m relieved to be on the other side.
Let’s see….it’s just past 4am on Christmas morning on the East Coast (which is where I live), and I’m here on this blog… Yep, it’s a bit of a lifeline for me, too! Being single during the holidays isn’t easy, but it isn’t deadly, especially when I am able to connect with other singles through the magic of the ‘net. What in the world did single people do before Al Gore invented it????
J/K – But seriously, Folks, I hope y’all have a most wonderful holiday! 🙂
I’m a big fan of social media – FB and Twitter. And being able to connect with people there and at FPS gets me through a lot of days and nights.
In response to your question, Wendy:
Let’s just say that, in addition to giving up birthdays (the numbers are starting to intimidate me), I’m also considering giving up Christmas-es. This year, I definitely fell prey to feeling ‘under-invited’, as more and more of my friends build their own families, etc. It’s tough. I want my friends to be considerate of my situation (no significant other), but I also don’t want to feel like a charity case.
I think it might be wise for me to start planning an annual ‘holiday escape’. A trip (big or small) that I can look forward to each year. It just makes sense. It’s something that I can do for myself (versus relying on others), to help ensure that I actually enjoy the holidays.