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’Tis the Season of Peace, Goodwill, and Holiday Stress
Angus and our youngest daughter got our Christmas tree last week. I purchased all of the girls stocking stuffers way ahead of time. Even though our daughters are young adults, we all love the Christmas morning ritual of them opening gifts in their pillowcases. Angus’s family used pillowcases rather than stockings. This seemed very practical, so we kept that tradition.
And even though this is the season of peace and goodwill, all of the festivities can come with the experience of extra pressure and stress that can take a toll on health and relationships.
I have experienced internal pressure to have a good time and for things to be just right. One year I practically threatened to divorce Angus because he hadn’t bought croissants, which are our daughters’ breakfast of choice on Christmas day. He ended up calling every bakery still open on Christmas eve and eventually found one that had croissants and agreed to stay open for me to drive there and pick them up. He couldn’t understand what the big deal was. I was acting as if my life depended on it. Not one of my finest moments. Another time, on Christmas day, I got into a massive fight with one of our daughters that disrupted our dinner. I should have known better, but I took the bait, and things blew up. Fortunately, we were both able to settle and salvage the evening so we could…
