The Holiday Crush

Its that time of year! Stay-at-Home Moms everywhere are overworked and aching for a break.  Just this week alone, I have 6 Christmas Holiday parties, 2 morning coffees and 3 charitible organizations to buy for/give to. I am reading Frosty the Snowman to 18  9-year-olds on Wednesday and bringing pretzels to a party for 18  11-year-olds on Thursday.  Plus, I haven't even sent my holiday cards, or bought and wrapped all the presents. And guess what - we don't even have a Christmas tree yet and its December 15th! The horror!!!  Some of my neighbors had Christmas trees set up and decorated before Thanksgiving this year!

Were the holidays always this stressful? I remember my mother running around and decorating but it just seems like there was more time then. We made ornaments out of felt. We took time to bake cookies. I don't remember her yelling until she was hoarse because 'SHE NEEDED TO GET TO TARGET RIGHT NOW AND EVERYONE GET IN THE CAR! I DON'T CARE IF YOU ARE WEARING SHOES! HURRRRRY!'  Nope, didn't happen.

I seem to be getting yelled at, a lot more than the normal yelling, while I drive lately, too. Lots of times I don't even think I am doing anything really wrong but boy do I make the other driver MAD.  A driver held up his cell phone to a friend of mine once, while she was driving, mocking the talking with his hand.   She called me on my cell right away to let me know.

If you are a student of humanity like I am, you have probably studied people's faces in the mall, and you have probably concluded, like I do, that people are not content during the Holiday crush. Don't even TRY to ask for help in a retail store right now. You will get the, 'WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?' look.   Luckily, in the mall, you can always take your anger out on the aggressive Kiosk sales people. Can you imagine the unfriendliness that they are exposed to on a daily basis and especially during the 2 weeks before and after Christmas the holidays. I guess that is why they make the big bucks!  Even I can't force myself to be nice when a Kiosk salesperson asks me to make my hair straighter or to smoke a fake cigarette or clip on some fake hair. And just what is the white stuff that they trying to rub on my hand? So I just screw my face up really mean and say, 'NO THANK YOU'...then I give them a little apologetic smile and say, 'Sorry, its just this crazy holiday schedule that I am on.  Its making me a little impatient. OK, I will try that. Ooo it smells good. Thank you. How much is that??'

Happy Holidays!