Bah Humbug!

It is 353 days until Christmas 2012 and I am beginning to feel a bit like Scrooge.  Dare I say that I have begun to dread the holiday season? The religious connotations of both Christmas, Hanukkah, and from what I know of Kwanzaa, are pleasant and appealing enough that I should find spiritual consolation and rise to a higher plain …yet I suffer. 

To be precise, it is the extreme pressure of the season that fills me with dread.  Whether it be progressing through insufferable crowds at the stores or spending inordinate amounts of time navigating "e-tail," the whole process has become mentally and physically debilitating.

I don't expect that all people, men and women, and certainly not children (heaven forbid) feel the "pop a pill" anxiety of the holidays or the extreme relief that comes when they are over. This relief and celebration of "over" is mostly the perspective held by the supplier, spreader, bringer, transmitter, giver, gifter (malapropism) and source of all things desirable and delicious. You givers know who you are. 

This year, I was truly looking forward to the family-visiting-from-out-of-town-staying-with-us kind of holiday. The wonderful opportunity of younger children bonding with older children is a joyful and uplifting experience to be celebrated and applauded. After all, the holidays are about family and the unique relationships of blood and shared history. The additional happiness of eating and imbibing meal after meal sounds so satiating, so satisfying … by golly it is un-American to complain in any way about this Hallmark/Norman Rockwell scenario.  Unless, of course, you are the one doing all of the shopping, cooking, most of the cleaning, etc., etc. ... need I say more? 

Yes, I spent my holiday at the beck-and-call of a house full of people, surely not strangers, but nonetheless close relation partakers. There are those that might cater or bring in pre-prepared meals (I certainly don't blame them), but I am not one of those. I pride myself on my culinary skills and ability to create beautiful, gourmet, festive delicious meals and soirees that leave lasting impressions. 

Like a magazine piece with a glossy picture-perfect holiday photo, the table was set with linens, crystal and silver, shimmering in candle glow. Vases brimmed with flowers whose aroma was only overpowered by the exquisite fragrance that was emanating from the kitchen. How could I feel anything but complete joy as compliment after compliment descended upon me from my loved ones as they proceeded to devour every last course and morsel of my meal? 

It was only later, while completely exhausted and slaving over a sink full of dishes that it occurred to me that I had become the Four Seasons Hotel. Yet, instead of my lying on a sandy beach at the Four Seasons and being catered to by staff and personnel, I was doing the providing, servicing and attending to the needs of all house guests, aka my family. What had I done to deserve this honor? 

It wasn't hard to recall that my best intentions for the holidays had been to add a few more workouts to my week. Perhaps read an extra book or two outside in the glorious sunshine and warm temperatures that Malibu has been blessed with this holiday season.

For years now, my husband's mantra has been, "Why travel during the holidays when the airports are crowded? We live in a resort, why not enjoy it!" You don't have to be a rocket scientist to imagine what my thoughts to date are on this snippet of marital wisdom. My retort of "What feels like a vacation to you feels like a whole lot of cooking and cleaning to me" being a pared-down version. 

OK, the holidays are over and were enjoyed by all, well maybe not all but some.  Thank heaven there are 353 more days give or take until it all begins again.  By then, maybe I will have forgotten "Christmas Past" and be ready to greet "Christmas Future." Now that things are back to normal, perhaps I'll make time to work out a little more and read a good book. 

Speaking of books, the holidays brought the good news that my novel is on sale with signed copies available at , which is very exciting for this local author! Be my guest and check it out.