Ah the HOLIDAYS, from Thanksgiving thru Christmas and New Years everything is festive and cheerful and bright. Oy the Holidays, from Thanksgiving thru Christmas and New Years everything is stressful and aching and tense. I guess what I am trying to say is the major holidays can be a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde experience. All the family time and celebration is wonderful but the preparation for those joyous moments can be less than joyous.
Anyway, to help relieve the stress of the holiday season my wife and I watch quite a few Hallmark movies to relax and help with stress. Hallmark has found a nice niche with their family oriented entertainment especially during the holidays and it is actually refreshing to watch movies made for the whole family. Movies that are free of any controversies or societal insanity as shown by the major networks.
My wife and I are empty nesters who do our own chores around our home. We perform the basics, cleaning, cooking and laundry oh my. Many of those chores used to be our children’s responsibilities when they were younger and lived with us. Boy I miss those days, I took for granted how much we depended on those chill-gins until faced with a daily honey-do list. Our kids our great and living good lives on their own so I can’t complain. As a ‘young’ man in my early 60s a little exercise while dangerous can also be helpful. (A little sarcasm there). For big projects having a cold lager helps me complete tasks I wouldn’t dream of doing otherwise. It also helps having two sons who will help as time allows and a few friends who know how to actually fix things correctly. Along with the cold lager it becomes a working party of sorts and that ain’t half bad.
My wife is also a big help although her habit of attempting to accomplish many things at the same time and her easily diverted attention span can require patience on my part. She has a great eye for detail which is very helpful in most situations but sometimes it can also be a ‘problem’. Luckily she puts up with my idiosyncrasies (Lager while I work) and I in-turn jump from one task to another with as little growling as I can. It does seem as we age we are actually working as a team better than ever. I guess 18 years of wedded bliss will do that to people. She recently decorated our porch and also added some seasonal colors to our landscaping. She has a good decorating sense while my idea of decorating is a wreath and well I do usually do have cold lager in the fridge.
I have seen a blog or two or three written about stress and the holidays. I guess today I wanted to share my tips for dealing with holiday stress. As my wife and I age (she is younger than me by 8 years) we have found pacing ourselves works wonders. It does take practice and patience since we still believe we have the stamina of our younger selves. A few aches and pains have become the warning sign that stopping whatever seemed important in preparation for the holidays can actually be a good idea. No use trying to enjoy a holiday if you’re in pain. Advil works wonders for her and Yingling is my pain reliever of choice. Teamwork helps, completing tasks together can be fun and yield favorable results. Individually we might meditate, pray or just find a distraction like texting to provide a break from our work. That is my two cents for how to successfully cope with the stress of the season. If anyone has other ideas feel free to share.
The Skeptical Observer 