Do the holidays suck for you?

[vash]

i hate traveling during the holidays..the rest of the stuff..i LOVE!! i love the buzz of the energy around here.

gifts? whatever..i dont get many, but i also dont have to buy many. i love going downtown san francisco, and watching the frenzy. food gets better this time of the year too!! i love the cold weather. good times.

[Jim Richards]

I'm helping my wife bake pies after work tomorrow. She makes the crusts, I do the rest. Including eating them.

[craigster59]

I myself, love this time of year. I tune out the commercialization and concentrate on the buzz, the cheer, kids getting excited and all that great food. Love decorating the tree (even though in late Sept/ early Oct I've already done it for a Christmas episode on TV) and hanging lights, the whole nine yards.

I don't go crazy with presents except for adopting a couple families, so that makes what shopping I have to do, fun. We go on hiatus till New Years, so that gives me 2 weeks off. I love everything about it, in fact, if I had the balls, I'd walk around wearing one of those ugly ass Christmas sweaters for 2 weeks straight!

[Rick Lee]

My wife's boss makes her whole team contribute a few hundred bucks (each) of personal funds to her (the boss's) favorite charity and then deliver the gifts to the families she chooses to adopt. It makes me sick. My wife is pretty offended by it too, since these families are by no means poor to anyone who grew up in China. But no one has the balls to refuse or report it to a higher up.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

My wife's boss makes her whole team contribute a few hundred bucks (each) of personal funds to her (the boss's) favorite charity and then deliver the gifts to the families she chooses to adopt. It makes me sick. My wife is pretty offended by it too, since these families are by no means poor to anyone who grew up in China. But no one has the balls to refuse or report it to a higher up.

Festivus donation to The Human Fund?

[weseeeee]

I actually enjoy the year end get togethers with family and friends.

[mossguy]

Originally Posted by tweezers74

You are not getting soft, you are getting smarter. Your wife will love it, whether it is $5 or thousands because it was unexpected and uncalled for. You will totally throw her for a loop. And just because you weren't looking for it, you are gonna get it. A million times over. That's how us women work.

Tweez, I really appreciate hearing your point of view on this and many other topics! Please continue to offer us your take on stuff!

[dw1]

Do the holidays suck for me?

In a word, yes.

Far too many hassles, conflicts, missing ones that have been lost, guilt trips, relatives going nuts, over-optimistic expectations, etc., etc.

A far, far simpler holiday season would be great, but the media bombardment is unceasing.

To us, the holiday season is expensive and exhausting, both physically and mentally.

[nostatic]

I used to really hate them. I have a history with them that isn't pretty. The last few years have been better as I've done probably a couple dozen gigs at nursing homes around the holidays. That changes your perspective. If you are able to get up and walk, talk, eat, etc without assistance, then quit whining to go do something.

[WolfeMacleod]

Very depressing for me. This year is due to be my mother's last, if she even makes it to Xmas.
Add that my wife split during the holidays in '08, and a 3yo daughter I've never met... it all sucks.
Ex wife just had a child this week. She never wanted one.

[onewhippedpuppy]

One upside is that my inlaws live on 40 acres in the country. 500 rounds of .223 will help pass the time.

[vash]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

One upside is that my inlaws live on 40 acres in the country. 500 rounds of .223 will help pass the time.

ok..NOW i'm depressed..haha. sounds great..really great.

[flatbutt]

I guess that I just miss my kids. I won't get to see my son at all on Thanksgiving because he needs to make the wife happy by seeing her family. In order to see my daughter I need to go to the ex's house. Fortunately thats not as heinous an ordeal as it might sound. I do miss getting everybody together for a Bacchanalian festival.

[widgeon13]

Wow, sorry to say this but your misery makes me feel fortunate. Really sorry that is the case. Guess I should be thankful for just spending time with great in laws, son, DIL and beautiful granddaughter.

Very depressing for me. This year is due to be my mother's last, if she even makes it to Xmas.

Add that my wife split during the holidays in '08, and a 3yo daughter I've never met... it all sucks.

Ex wife just had a child this week. She never wanted one.

[911boost]

I used to love the holidays, we had a three year rotation, our house with just the kids and us, my wife's family, then my family. There was stress, but its how you handle it thats important. SOmetimes I didn't handle it in the best ways, and sometimes I did...

Then I got divorced.

This is my first year as a single dad with joint custody and my two awesome youngsters 50% of the time. I am going into it with an open mind, and trying not to let the changes affect me.

I have the kids for Thanksgiving this year, and they are with their Mom for Christmas, we alternate each year. We have some fun plans for Thanksgiving Day, getting together with a group of freinds (my family is spread out all over, Boston, DC) for football watching and dinner. Then on Friday we are going to a local baseball field to practice hitting some balls (my 6 year old son is really into little league) and I'm going to enjoy every second I get with them. The weather is supposed to be really nice so I am thinking we may take a drive in the 911 somewhere for a fun lunch and then maybe go to a movie in the afternoon. The rest of the weekend I don't really have planned, but I am sure it will be fun. I'm thinking of setting up the train with them, something we have always done for the holidays.

They are going to Iowa to see her family for Christmas, so I am still figuring out what I want to do. I have some projects around the house I am working on (one is building a Bulgarian AK74 from a parts kit I have) and I'd like to change out the wastegate spring in the 911 to make up for the catalytic convertor I added to it this fall.

All in all I am not looking forward to my first Christmas away from the kids, but we will all survive, and I am going to start som traditions that are just ours. The time I have with them until they grow up is too short.

Bill

[911_Dude]

For you recently divorced guys, especially with kids, I feel for you and Ive been there. Its been 13 years since the break up and the kids are pretty much grown and on their own. I hated the holidays for a while, but the last few years have been better and better. Time heals, the kids are fine, and Ive been with a great woman for the last 4 years.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by 911_Dude

For you recently divorced guys, especially with kids, I feel for you and Ive been there. Its been 13 years since the break up and the kids are pretty much grown and on their own. I hated the holidays for a while, but the last few years have been better and better. Time heals, the kids are fine, and Ive been with a great woman for the last 4 years.

What he said. Divorced (quite publicly) since '05, had 50/50 custody that has been actually quite smooth. My son has his 16th birthday tomorrow and is as happy as a 16 year old can be considering hormonal imbalances, etc. I got remarried this year (been together for 5 years), work and music are crazy but better than the alternatives.

There always is someone who has it worse than you do. Your current situation is what you make of it, and is as good as you think it is.

[Jim Richards]

It's usually better than you think it is.

[Racerbvd]

Well, another nail
Just found out, a close family friend, who has been fighting Cancer, lost the battle tonight
My Mother and I had planned to visit him tomorrow (he has been pretty weak, his daughter wanted for it to be on a good day for him, as he was my Mothers 1st Love) but now will be going to a funeral on Sat instead..

Hard to be in happy spirits at a time when people whom were close to you Died..

[ckelly78z]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

Well, another nail
Just found out, a close family friend, who has been fighting Cancer, lost the battle tonight
My Mother and I had planned to visit him tomorrow (he has been pretty weak, his daughter wanted for it to be on a good day for him, as he was my Mothers 1st Love) but now will be going to a funeral on Sat instead..

Hard to be in happy spirits at a time when people whom were close to you Died..

Just try to be happy for the time you got to spend with them. Funerals should be more of a life celebration for older people, so it might not be as bad.