The Holiday Hangover

We've all seen cartoon dynamite. The fuse is as long as tarnation and takes as long to burn out as is needed for the joke to be over. The bunny always wins, or the coyote tests his own healthcare plan, and there you have it.

And this pretty much sums up the holiday season. You know I'm telling the truth. Yesterday was the boom in one way or another unless you are Orthodox, in which case the fuse continues for another two weeks or so.

There's a buildup, a slow escalation that can contain equal parts joy and dread as we move closer and closer to a moment of truth that will result in satisfaction or a semblance of defeat.

Some families are close, while others lie about the closeness and behave as if they are at a UN summit and no one brought the party favors. Sometimes you want a translator for all of the backhanded compliments. I've been in family mandatory fun celebrations like that where you end up accused of malfeasances that never crossed your mind and usually never happened.  

The end of the festivities can be much like cracking your knuckles. The pressure is gone, and things can go back to normal. If something went awry during the day or someone in their self-absorbed world for their own protection and sanity ends up losing the joy that they had propped themselves up with just to survive the day, then this is where the reprieve can come from.

The next day which is today, you get to start clean. All of the stress should be over and it's time for the yearly cleaning crew. It's time for a brand new year to look forward to and prepare for the presents you need to purchase if you are a frugal person that does not have a drive to engage in post Turkey Day mortal combat.

This is the last week of 2022, and I am grateful that we are both here to enjoy it together.

Today is a shorter piece, because part of my cleanup is dealing with sick family members. I hope you fare differently.

Until tomorrow, let's line up and toe the line that takes us away to 2023.