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Thanksgiving is nearly here. And even though I haven’t eaten my Thanksgiving dinner or begun to cook the cranberries or season the bird, I’m already feeling “stuffed”. What is it about the holidays that makes us want to jam and cram every minute and every corner and every bit of our stomach with, well, stuff? Frantic to relive every holiday tradition, and sample every holiday food and participate in every holiday rehearsal, gathering, performance and event I find myself over-full and completely overwhelmed. And there comes a moment, when my husband is watching me run around the tenth time, like a chicken with my head cut off, when he just asks me, “Will you please stop? Just for a minute? Will you please just stop?”
You think I’d learn. I mean it happens to me every dang year. The temptation is sooooo strong. I can have one more rehearsal. It’s only one more bite of pie. I can add just one more person to my list. But I ultimately find, that when I’m completely stuffed. If I don’t have room for one more bite in my tummy, if I don’t have time for one more second in my day, I don’t enjoy any of it. And for me, that’s a real shame.
Look, if you are one of those rare birds who enjoys being stuffed, if it fills you with a holiday glow and makes you feel happy, who am I to judge? As my dear friend Ragen Chastain always says, “You get to be the boss of your own underpants.” But since I don’t enjoy it, and I really don’t like being stuffed, I’m exploring alternatives. Frankly, I’ve only come up with one. I’m going to have to give up a few things so that I have the time, energy, bandwidth and space to enjoy the others. I’m going to have to face my fears that the world will end if I don’t do everything, so that I can still enjoy some things. I’m going to have to live with not trying Aunt Sue’s Pecan Pie, making the shortbread cookies, caroling at the mall and doing the fifteenth office/club/team holiday party.
So my dear chicklettes. I hope the upcoming holiday is full (but not too full) of everything that you love, that you hold dear and that makes you feel inordinately happy.
Love,
The Fat Chick
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I once married into a large family, and for several years it became my job to cook Thanksgiving dinner for 20+ people. It was nightmarishly stressful. I had always timed the cooking process so that the turkey, potatoes, gravy, etc. were all done and ready to eat at the same moment. When that moment arrived, I turned into a nagging shrew trying to interrupt all those people and herd them into the kitchen to eat right then. Eventually I discovered that it was much easier and less stressful to just cook all the hot stuff ahead of time and then keep it warm in the oven until everyone was ready to eat. Just one small step toward a less frenzied, happier holiday.
I once married into a large family, and for several years it became my job to cook Thanksgiving dinner for 20+ people. It was nightmarishly stressful. I had always timed the cooking process so that the turkey, potatoes, gravy, etc. were all done and ready to eat at the same moment. When that moment arrived, I turned into a nagging shrew trying to interrupt all those people and herd them into the kitchen to eat right then. Eventually I discovered that it was much easier and less stressful to just cook all the hot stuff ahead of time and then keep it warm in the oven until everyone was ready to eat. Just one small step toward a less frenzied, happier holiday.