E-Indeed: The Blog

Before you think me a Grinch, let me explain — I’m not anti-Christmas, by any stretch of the imagination.  It’s the season that bothers me.

I know that there’s a certain amount of joy in Christmas–after all, the celebration of the birth of our Savior merits a great deal of joy and Thanksgiving to our Father in Heaven.   I just think we’ve gone overboard.  I’m not talking about commercialism–I’m a believer in Free Enterprise and Capitalism, and I say if they can make a buck, go for it.  No, I’m talking about culture.  Everything changes for 3 months each year, usually about a week or two after Halloween.  First you have Thanksgiving.  I’m all about giving thanks, but the traditions that go with it have become ludicrous.  For example–I am not fond of Turkey.  Or any poultry for that matter–I hatched a set of Chickens from eggs when I was in sixth grade, and raised them as pets–never could deal with eating poultry well after that  (On the flipside, a herd of cows decided to cross the road I was traveling down to get home on a rainy night a few years ago, and I had nowhere to go but plowing straight into the bull.  I’ve particularly relished eating beef since then…).  Don’t get me wrong, slow-cooking the Turkey in my smoker was a blast, and I always enjoy eating the fruits of my labor–once.  But then there are leftovers.  And it goes on.

After Thanksgiving begins the really trying time.  Everywhere you go, it’s Christmas music.  This wouldn’t be so bad, except that there are only so many songs, and hearing them every day for eight or more hours is enough to drive you insane.  And yet, whenever you mention this, all you get is “what a grinch.”  Not to mention, it becomes near impossible to get anything done outside of the house, because of all the shoppers.

Of course, all of this pales in comparison to the real reason why this season drives me nuts.  EVERYTHING is tuned at this time of year to point to happy families doing happy things together.  An absolutely wonderful notion.  There’s only one problem–to those of us that are single, even though we still have our regular family, this just drives it into our skulls how much we don’t have.  First you have all of the family activities, dinners, etcetera, where you’re being badgered over and over with “so who are you dating,” or “why aren’t you married yet,” or, my perennial favorite, “when are you going to start bringing your own kids?”

Then you have New Years, when you’re supposed to be on some kind of romantic date with your significant other, and instead you just hang out with your family.  And then you have to deal with the penultimate insult to the single person–Valentine’s Day.  The one day of the year when it is absolutely unacceptable under any circumstances to leave your dwelling-place if you are single. And then, for good measure, my Birthday comes up shortly thereafter, to mark yet another year with nothing to show for it.  Granted, there’s plenty that’s happened in my external (professional) life, but all that seems to matter is the lack of any positive personal developments.

So, why not just go out and do something so I have something to show?  Ah, the beauty of this time of year.  It is perfect in the absolute completeness with which it has chosen to mock the single person.  Relationship experts, advisors, Doc Love, and all the others disagree on many things, but on one thing they converge in their opinions.  Don’t put undue pressure on a relationship before it is ready.  Family events tend to put this pressure on relationships.  And, unfortunately, there’s almost nothing but family events between Halloween and the middle of February.  There is just no way to begin a relationship (and maintain hope of it lasting) during this wonderful 3 month span.

Now I know, I’m not dating, this should not be bothering me.  But it does.  And I’ve just got to deal with it for the next 2 months.  And the powerlessness to avoid it scares me worse than anything else.