Thursday Thirteen - Holiday Edition

This is my first time hotlinking to a banner so let's see if this works . . . I picked this one in honor of the holiday week (but of course you knew that already)!

Also in honor of the holiday, here are 13 thoughts I have about holidays:

1. I like them, sometimes. More now than I used to because I enjoy sharing them with my husband and kids.

2. People tend to put way too much pressure on themselves and others with respect to certain holidays - Christmas and New Years especially.

3. When I lived in NYC, I hated New Years Eve. There was huge pressure (internally generated) to do something extra special but it was nearly impossible for me. First of all, I was single with no one to kiss at midnight, feeling like a third (or fifth or seventh) wheel most of the time. Second of all, I had no money and my friends (the corporate/investment banker-types in the go-go Eighties) had plenty so I couldn't afford the stuff they wanted to do. And they weren't rich enough to pay for me, too. Apparently.

4. I'm sure there were plenty of cool, creative, cheap things to do in NYC on New Years Eve. I just wasn't cool or creative enough to figure out where they were.

5. I like Thanksgiving, mostly because it involves food. And it's food that I can actually make without driving myself too crazy. (Except for that one year that I tried to make a Martha Stewart stuffing recipe involving capers. Not a good thing.)

6. The Fourth of July is usually fun. Getting days off in the summer is always a good thing.

7. When we first moved into our old apartment, we could watch the fireworks from our living room. With all the highrises that have been built during the last 10 years, that view is long gone. In our current apartment, we can see the fireworks in the western suburbs which is kind of cool even though they are pretty far away.

8. I used to be so-so on Christmas. Because my parents were divorced, we had to do two Christmases - one with my Dad and one with my Mom (the same was true of Thanksgiving but that didn't bother me as much - see #5). It was a hassle and just not fun. By the time they were divorced, we were over the whole Santa thing so it was just an obligation to be with family. It was a "You will have fun if it kills you" kind of thing.

9. Plus, I used to have to drive over an hour back and forth from my aunt's house in the "country" (back then it was the country, now it's a suburb) with my two brothers. One time they decided it would be really funny to pass gas the whole way home. It was 20 below, opening the windows was not a good option. This was over 20 years ago. Can someone please explain why I'm still pissed about it?

10. Now I love Christmas. We have a nice tradition of decorating the tree with the kids. Last year we used the really cool ornaments my husband picked up in Asia along with all the other ornaments and doo dads we've collected over the years. The only unifying theme for our tree decoration is our memories.

11. The kids still believe in Santa which is so cute it makes me want to cry. I know A Girl will probably figure it out this year or next year but I really hope she doesn't spoil it for her little sister. (She'd never do it on purpose but stuff happens). I'm not ready for that phase to be over.

12. Then there's all those other holidays that we celebrate but are mostly just an excuse to have a day off work. I do have a twinge of guilt on Memorial Day when I realize that I haven't taken more than a second to think about all the men and women who have died on the battlefield for our country. I don't even know what Labor Day is all about. Sad, but true. Am I supposed to think of labor unions?

13. More than any others, my most favorite holidays are my wedding anniversary and my kids' birthdays. I know, I know, those aren't real holidays. But frankly, those are far more important days for me personally than Abraham Lincoln's birthday, for example. Lincoln was a great guy. He did great things for this country. I'm glad to have a day off work in his honor. But if I'm picking stuff to celebrate, I'm going to celebrate those people that are nearest and dearest to my heart.