My Eeyore Complex

I need a serious dose of Christmas spirit.

Every year for the past 5 years, something bad has clouded over my holidays. Whether the illness/hospitalization of a parent or a child (or myself, last year), an argument with a family member, death of a loved one, a speeding ticket – ugh, you name it, it’s happened. This year, we started out the holidays with my son in the hospital on Thanksgiving. So I was hoping with it out of the way, maybe Christmas would be cloud-cover-free. Well, now my mom is in the hospital. She likely will be home and all will be well, but my Eeyore complex is starting to kick in…oh, bother.

It seems like every year from November to February, we kind of tip toe on the ice and hope nothing bad happens. We don’t make advanced plans for whose house we’ll be at when and we don’t commit to parties or gatherings until the hour before.

Last night we watched “Shrek the Halls” and each of the characters took turns reciting their version of “The Night Before Christmas.” Gingy’s was scary and sad, Donkey’s was sugar-plum and fairy filled, Puss in Boots’ was, well, kind of odd. In the end, they all made a new version of the story based on the Christmas they were sharing together. I didn’t realize I had so much in common with a Gingerbread Man!

So, I’ve pulled out my Christmas CDs, all the decorations (inside) are up, the stockings are hung on the ledge of the wall with care, and I’m sifting through recipes for cookies to bake with my kids. My husband and I are planning to go shopping this weekend – yep, we’re planning it 2 whole days in advance – and I’m going to get in the Christmas spirit before my tail falls off.

Bring on the Holidays – I CAN DO THIS!