It’s not a Christmas until everyone is happy
Well… that is simply not true is it?!
I think for a lot of people though, that is the pressure they feel. They have to please Mum and Dad...and ohh, how much more difficult life gets if they have split up!! All of a sudden you have TWO obligations AND you still have to go to your partner’s family too?!
I can already see people’s stress levels are going up… nostrils are flaring more quickly than normal… impatience is growing - as we all seem to be in such a rush!
People stressing about the lack of time even though it is the same time they always have and if you make sure you don’t take on too much, your clock will never overflow...
I always wonder why people do that - to me Christmas is about the opposite of stress; hanging out with the people you love and if you have to, you just spread it out over three days… Go visit them a WEEK later if that works out better… does it REALLY matter?
You can’t do a Christmas BBQ on the 26th?
There’s absolutely no need to make it any more difficult than that… right?
It’s not about the presents either - as we will all love what we receive anyway OR in a few years time we will remember - with laughter - the stupid gift your ex once gave you (like a VACUUM CLEANER even though you have a perfectly fine one already AND really, what kind of a gift is THAT for your girlfriend?! lol)
But I digress…
We won’t remember that perfect looking deck all cleaned especially for the Christmas family do.. We WILL remember all the time you put in your beautiful food - and if you chose to keep it simple and ‘just’ have a BBQ we will still also remember all the laughs we had, the funny stories and how Aunty Krista fell in the bushes… she didn’t hurt herself, don’t worry!
It is a choice though
You have to CHOOSE to remove the pressure - you have to talk to the people that might be causing you to stress because you worry about their feelings.
TALK - let them know what you feel, what you want, what you prefer to do…
You will see, the people that love you will come up with something that works for the both of you.
STOP worrying about the state of the paintwork on your house, start enjoying the company, or if you feel like staying home alone, then do that!
I would say this though;
If you feel alone and sad - reach out!
Something us kiwi’s are really good at is inviting more people! So speak up - let people know you are going to be by yourself.
Don’t feel like nobody cares - because we do!
And those of us lucky enough to have family and friends to hang out with; don’t let the people that are not so lucky, out of your sight...
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‘OPINIONATED RAMBLINGS
by Carrie Hazzard ’
Mrs Hazzard, a middle aged woman, mum and wife - in that order. Never quiet and always opinionated.
Any subject will do and any questions asked will be answered - never a dull moment in my brain!!