Rough Holiday

Yesterday was Mother's Day, which is always bittersweet. But usually it's not too hard. My mom has been gone for 15 years and I am the mom of a sweet little girl. But yesterday was rough. I think it was partly due to that time of the month compounded with perimenopause.

Todd and Emily were very sweet to me. I got presents and ice cream. We had also gone out for Japanese food on Saturday, to avoid the Mother's Day rush. But as the day waned on, the sadder I got.

But I know I wasn't the only one having a rough time yesterday. Lots of friends have lost their moms due to death or toxic relationships. As people age, holidays morph and change. Mother's Day was fun when I was a kid, but I didn't experience a lot of loss until I was grown up.

If you had a rough day yesterday, be gentle with yourself today!

The Problem With April 1st

I've never been a fan of April Fools Day. I don't like pranks because they can become cruel. I generally just lay low and wait for April 2nd to roll around.

The internet has put a spin on this holiday though. Some things, like today's Google Maps Pokemon Hunt is cute and fun. But the spoof news bits have kind of gotten out of control.

The rumor that Netflix is going to make new episodes of Firefly is making the rounds again. It's hard to believe anything that is announced today. Some of them are easy to spot, but others aren't. It gets annoying after a while.

It can also be hard on people - for instance some people will post that they are pregnant but just be joking. I've not had losses or infertility issues but people I'm close to have and I know it hurts them a lot.

I might be a scrooge but I'm just not into it. I'll be happier when it's tomorrow.

Happy December!

It’s really hard to believe that it’s already December. I did wish most of the year away counting down to our Disney Trip. But now I’m looking forward to the holidays and the new year to come.

I love Christmas and I’ve been itching to get our house decorated since Thursday. Slowly working on it but we won’t get our tree until later this week because Todd works on weekend.

Emily and I will be making her Christmas countdown chain this afternoon. It’s something we always did when I was a kid and I’m happy to bring this tradition to Emily’s childhood. I got construction paper to make red and green chains. Emily will make a tree or a star for the top.

I hope everyone has a great holiday season this December!

Our Thanksgiving

Usually for Thanksgiving, we go down to GA to spend the holiday with my aunt, uncle and cousins. This year, Todd’s grandmother was down visiting his aunt in Charlotte so we went to have Thanksgiving there.

Todd volunteered to make the meal, but he made most of it the day before. When we got up, he was making the potatoes and stuffing. We got on the road and made it to his aunt’s house at about 12:30.

Todd got all the food warmed up and we enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner while watching the Lions kill Green Bay. I ate way too much but still took Emily to the nearby park to play during half time.

Once the game was over, we packed up and headed home. Emily fell asleep on the way back because she had been running around all day. It was nice to see Todd’s family – it’s been a couple of years since we were up in Michigan and able to see his grandmother.

Todd went to the movies after we got home and I got Emily to bed. I tried to watch some MST3K on Netflix but I was just too tired. I didn’t do a whole lot but the traveling really gets to me lately. It doesn’t help that I have a cold right now.

After his movie, Todd went to hit some sales. He had a movie at Target but the line reached all the way to back of the store to check out. He decided not to wait in that massive line and just came home. He’ll be doing a little more shopping today.

For me, it was a good holiday. I’m working today, but thankfully from the comfort of my own home. After work, I’ll be getting the house ready so we can decorate next week. Todd also works today but his normal shift.

I hope all of you had a good holiday!

The "War" on Christmas

This past weekend was Asheville’s Holiday parade. On the local news’ Facebook page, there is always a ton of posts complaining that the parade is a Holiday parade and not a Christmas parade. I’m a Christian and I celebrate Christmas, but I never understood the whole war on Christmas thing.

There are tons of Christians out there celebrating Christmas every year, but there are lots of other people too that celebrate other winter holidays. I’m not a big fan of trying to push my religion down people’s throats. I’ll talk about it if people want – my former best friend was agnostic and she had a lot of questions about my religion and what I believe. I answered them all honestly, and I think it gave her a lot to think about.

But I like the use of ‘holiday’ because it’s inclusive. I may say Merry Christmas, since that’s what I celebrate, but I wouldn’t mind if someone said Happy Hanukkah or Blessed Yule if that’s what they celebrate. This country is supposed to have a freedom of religion, so lots of people celebrate different things (or in some cases, don’t celebrate at all).

I wish all Christians would try to be more Christ-like and inclusive to people who aren’t just like themselves. I have plenty of non-Christian friends who I care for dearly and I hope all my friends have a great holiday season.

Happy Halloween!

I'm in the middle, dressed as Annie

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. When I was a kid, there was nothing better than getting dressed up and going trick or treating. I never outgrew loving costumes though as I got older I started enjoying the spookier parts of Halloween, like horror films.

Tonight we’ll be taking Emily out trick or treating at the mall. She’ll be dressed up as Sophia the First and I’ll be wearing my American McGee’s Alice costume. Once she’s in bed, Todd and I will probably watch a scary movie.

I hope everyone has a safe and spooky Halloween!