Holiday Head Check

Not to be totally paranoid, but I think the Holiday season is causing me to be predisposed to some kind of anxiety disorder. I mean, Christmas music before Thanksgiving really sends me into a tailspin! Not to mention that I have been seeing hints of holiday cheer since September. I mean, can I have a moment to enjoy getting my kids back in school before everyone starts putting out pumpkins? The retailers seem to need to tell us how we should feel and get us in the mood, like some kind of foreplay, by putting up wreaths in October. Well I refuse to be manipulated, in fact I reject any and everything red, gold, and shiny until the day after Thanksgiving. Yes, Black Friday is when I will cave into the pressure of merriment and joy. That is when I will join in the chaos and attempt to decorate, overspend, and compete for the latest hover board, segway or the latest skylander. I will attempt to make the holiday season meaningful for my kids, while fulfilling each and everyone of their fanciful desires, often resulting in stress, overspending, and exhaustion – all in the name of tradition. But until then, how dare they take me out of the present moment awareness and force me to shop and drink even earlier than normal.  No, for now I choose to be in complete and utter bliss and denial. Hoping that it will pass over me like a distant dream. Besides, it is hard to sell me Christmas when I am living in Southern California and we just got out of a triple digit heat wave. Nothing says holiday season like 100 degree heat and flip flops, right?