A Process of Un-Christmased Mind

Such is the supposed feeling of Christmas that everything should feel happy and christmasy no matter what happens. And I have no great reason to say that I am unhappy. I do, however, detect a loss of spirit when it comes to holiday proceedings, something that I normally have a surplus of. As every other Christmas I have raced with my dad to grab the perfect tree and deck it, cider in hand, that very night, the thought nearly made me sick this year. I imagined the stockings, mine bursting with Eeyore's frowny little head (yes, I have an Eeyore stocking), hanging on the shelf and those blasted glittery snowmen that litter all countertops with their cheap porcelain abdomens, and nausea promptly circled my insides.

Then there's the Cheermeister: a position I claim every year with pride but feigned irritation. The Cheermeister sees to everything Christmas. She shops for everyone. She decorates the house, the tree. She wraps everything. She crochets scarves with increasingly blistered fingers. She watches a myriad of Christmasy themed movies alone, with joy. But for 2008, the Cheermeister of legend resigned her job to her younger brother Josi, and thought nothing of it. Josi climbed the ladder into the ceiling to fetch the ornaments, Josi hung those Disney stockings, Josi saw to the tree that she did not choose or even attend the choosing of. Josi, her fellow middle child, picked up where she should not have left off just because Christmas means confusion to her this time.

Every Christmas-looking THING that I pass by has me walking with more and more weight at the bottoms of my feet, my head. My buddy Brian told me the reason is because we're grinches. That's true to an extent because I like to be mean sometimes, but there isn't an excuse on earth why it should make me sad. What's your answer to THAT, huh Brian?

Enough obscure and depressing rants. It is time for a solution, so here is mine:

Family, of course, cannot compete with confusion. At least there is that. Not to mention claymation Christmas classics, such as Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (hello, voice talents of Fred Astaire!) and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Who says I can't still enjoy Christmasy themed movies alone, EVEN THOUGH the spirit has lost me completely? That's one of my favorite pastimes. Maybe I'll even watch with someone else for a change, someone who might force me into better moods. My dad is never opposed to A Christmas Carol, after all.