It is officially December and the holiday season is upon us. Grrrrr. I just don't feel like it. I swear the older I get, the less I like Christmas and all the crap that goes with it.

It was so much more fun as a kid when you were dragged from place to place, party to party, scooping up as much loot as you possibly could. It was nice to see the cousins, there was always good food, and always the chance that you would get a present or two.

Now that I'm grown and a mom, I get to do all the work and get none of the fun. Christmas to me now is nothing but pressure. Pressure to get the presents bought and wrapped and hope that I got the right stuff; trip after trip to the store to acquire said presents all the while worrying if there is enough money to buy it all. I enjoy the parties, but they require trips to the store, wrapping, cooking. It's the leadup to parties I don't like. Once I'm there, with a glass of wine in hand I'm all good. I find that when people open the presents I've gotten them, I don't care. I don't care if they like it, wanted it, whatever. In the past, I used to take so much time to pick my Christmas gifts. I just loved it. I guess I had enough people open what I so carefully picked for them, and just toss it to the side never to be seen again that I do not invest as much of myself in the gift giving.

As for my kids, they have so much stuff, my house is bursting at the seams. We have instilled a rule that after Christmas, they have to give up one thing for each gift they were given. It helps but not enough. I also grew up going to Catholic school and all that it entailed. There isn't one in this area and my kids go to public school. There, they don't have a Christmas party, they have a "holiday party". The most Christmas-y they can get in song is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. My kids don't know the words to "Away in a Manger" when it comes on the radio and that makes me sad. It's partially my fault. I don't get them to church near as often as I should but even if I did, the daily dose of Jesus and religion you get at a Catholic school cannot be replicated anywhere else. It hurts my heart that my kids are growing up without it. They will never be in a bathrobe playing a wise man in the Christmas play or have a Choral concert with nothing but religious songs. They look at me like I'm nuts because I can sing Adeste Fidelis...all the verses...all in Latin.

Huntley has been talking about going to year round school. If that happens, the kids will be headed for Catholic school even though that means a 20-30 minute ride to school every day. Maybe then I'll like Christmas more. I was going to go to the school board meeting to oppose it. Maybe I should just stay home and take my chances.

Happy Holidays.