And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ‘till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more……………….. (Dr. Seuss)
That happens to be my all-time favorite Dr. Seuss quote, so fitting for this time of year. The holiday season for many of us is the one time of the year where we all get to enjoy our families and friends and create lasting memories………but it’s also the one time of year we all go crazy insane…..Let me explain.
We all tend to fall into this holiday trap I call “silly season” …… Silly season is my self proclaimed time period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. During silly season we all traditionally eat too much, drink too much, spend wildly over budget, and run ourselves ragged and wide-eyed, all in the attempt to keep up with the hectic holiday pace we self-impose on ourselves……
Looking back to when I was a kid, silly season was always in full swing year after year while growing up………. my folks were “holiday animals,” we had multiple Christmas trees in the house, decorations everywhere, the outside of the house looked like an airport runway, endless food, and booze………my Mom demanded with family and friends that our house was the holiday “cool-aid” house where everyone hung out………there was never any shortage of family and friends celebrating the holidays at our house…. It was also a family tradition to attend 9 am mass on Christmas morning, I think my folks did that by design to just torture us kids……we always had to wait until after church before we could lay a hand on any gift Santa brought, talk about the longest hour of church in your life.
Now those days are long gone, but the memories and traditions will last forever with myself and my family…… So if you’re a family who puts the “holiday gas pedal” to the floor or if you’re a more laid back traditionalist …….take some time this holiday season and slow down, look around, and enjoy the blessing the good Lord has bestowed on all of us and our families………Christmas will come “with” or “without” as the Grinch found out………God Bless you and your family.
Merry Christmas, God Bless, and Happy New Year,
J.J. Glass
