The Holidays!

Ahhhh, the holidays. That time of year that your stress level sky rockets and you’re plunged into the depths of family gatherings. Aren’t you just so excited?! ;D

But no really, I love the holidays. I wasn’t really raised under any sort of religious denomination as I was growing up, my parents were nice enough to let me decide on my own about whether God would have a place in my life or not, probably the nicest thing they could’ve done for me. Don’t worry, the God talk is for another time lol

But anyways, soooooo, wasn’t really raised religious so I don’t really go to church for Christmas and Thanksgiving and all that good stuff. For me, the holidays mean spending money and seeing family members once again.

First off, let me say that Halloween, as much as I love the ambiance and atmosphere that Halloween brings, I don’t really think of it as a holiday anymore. When you’re a kid, getting dressed up, trick or treating and what not, it’s a holiday. When you’re 22, it’s just another excuse to go out with friends and get hammered.

That’s what I think separates Thanksgiving and Christmas from most days of celebration, the family gatherings. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a good thing. Some of us have weird, estranged, family members. Sometimes a little too touchy (Don’t you dare pinch my damn cheeks again 🙁 I’m not 6). If you’re lucky like me, you’ve got one of those families where we can’t go an hour with everyone together without getting into an argument. It’s awesome! It’s a complete mystery to my family as to why I don’t get drunk off wine with them and engage in yelling matches about politics, and what I should and shouldn’t be doing with my life, and how so and so was rude to so and so, but they never expressed that they were offended, but they’re mad at them, so they can’t come over to their place for some future occasion, and so on and so forth. So yeah lol Holidays at the O’Toole’s 😀

But the thing that bugs me the most, is that I have some family, my aunt and uncle and their kids to be exact, that never finds the time to visit aside from the holidays. Now, I know this is technically “normal” for most families, but I haven’t mentioned yet that they live in the same town as my parents. I live in the next town over from them, and I find the time to stop by my uncle’s office and check in on them, but they won’t come visit for any other time except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yet when they do, they somehow get away with only staying for a couple of minutes! Do I smell funny? lol

Hmmmm, now I think I know why everyone gets drunk and yells at each other now lol It’s the only chance they get to get all this off their chests lol

So this obviously isn’t the reason why I enjoy the holidays, in fact, it’s the reason I get that nagging sensation in the back of my mind until Easter is over. I love my family, they’re all great people, but they stress me out so much lol

I know this is going to sound really corny, but the reason I like the holidays so much, are the films that come with them and are played back to back! 😀

Of course for Halloween you’re going to have an absurd amount of horrible and well made horror movies flooding the air, to once again instill fear in the hearts of children and make them afraid of the dark, and not want to get up to pee at night.

But I’m a sappy feel good individual, so I would have to say that I enjoy the Christmas themed movies the most. I mean come on, the classic A Christmas Story. “Fra-gee-lay, I think it’s Italian! Uh, Dear, I think that says fragile.” Definitely one of my favorites 😀 But I have to say, the ones I enjoy the most, are those silly little clay-mation movies. Frosty the snowman, Rudolph, Jack Frost. I grew up watching those every Christmas for as long as I can remember.

It’s not the food, it’s not the massive amounts of family get togethers, or the gifts, or the buying of gifts, it’s the movies that make me feel like I’m 7 yrs. old with out a care in the world that really make the holidays special for me.

As we all begin this holiday journey once again this year, I wish you the best of luck with the family ;D and when the stress becomes almost unbearable, find that one thing that brings you back to the joys of being a kid.

Happy Holidays everyone, and Safe Travels!!!!

Sammy