I have always said that stress is relative.  If you don’t want the stress, get rid of the relatives.

Small Gatherings

It has been years since we have had a simple just us holiday.  Even having just a “few” family members over can be a huge production.  Thanksgiving this year was less than half of us and we still had over 30 people.

Christmas Eve dinner was just us (4), my youngest sister, my younger sister and her family (5), my oldest sister, my nephew, and my oldest daughter and her family (4) for a total of 16 people.  It was a wonderful evening with food, fun and laughter.

Christmas Day started with a quiet morning, but got a little hectic after that.  We had our annual family gathering that afternoon and it was well attended.  With just two families and my sisters we had close to 30 people.  We potluck as usual which gives us a LOT to eat.  There were four generations at this gathering: the little ones (under 15), the kids (16-30), the children (my siblings) and the clan heads (my parents).  We sent the little ones down to play in our basement game room.  The kids played games in the family room.  The children played games in the dining room.  There was lots of talking, laughing and giggling little ones.

When the gathering was over, there is the traditional farewell.  “I love you all, please go home.”  It was a great Christmas.

Fun is Hard Work

For those of you who struggle with anxiety, depression and other similar issues, this can be a very overwhelming experience.  While I enjoy my family, it is exhausting and takes recovery time.  This year was no different.

I was very excited to get to bed before midnight on Christmas Eve.  Unfortunately, after putting herself to bed around 9 p.m., my daughter was up around 3:20 a.m. too excited to sleep anymore.  She came into my room and put on a movie to watch.  I sent her back to bed.  This went on for the next 4 hours.  Needless to say, I was very tired by the time it was time to get up.  I was able to take a short 2 hour nap after stockings and presents which was immensely needed.  It was enough to get me through the day, but the anxiety was pretty bad.

Several times I had to take a minute or five and go someplace quiet to do some deep breathing and refocus.  I was able to enjoy the fun and games though.

Recovery Time

The day after Christmas I was absolutely exhausted.  I had the shakes and vertigo.  My brain was non-functioning and I was physically weak.  I was even too tired to eat without feeling sick.  Apparently I had a lot more fun than I had realized: hehehehe.  I spent the day resting, napping and watching movies.  Luckily, my daughter was able to go sledding with one of her best friends so she wasn’t lonely and bored.

The second day after Christmas I had enough energy to clear about 6-8 inches of snow of our large driveway with the snow blower, but that was all she wrote.  I spent the rest of the day crocheting and watching movies.

I had a great Christmas filled with family, fun, food and laughter.  I was given exactly what I wanted, yarn and lots of it.  😀  It is really all I ever ask for because I am always looking for new projects.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.