Holidays, just as everything in life, has its good points and pad points. Some years, the good outweigh the bad, and sometimes vice versa. Every now and then, you get a push. Let’s review some pro’s and con’s between Thanksgiving and Christmas (of your respective winter holiday).
Pro’s
Time off from work that is paid. This may not apply to all (especially those in non-salaried retail), but I am now thankful I get the Friday after Thanksgiving as a day off. When I run my own company, this will definitely be a paid company holiday.
Any year the Aggies (Texas A&M) beat t.u. (the Univ. of Texas). Period. Reminder, 2006 score, 12-7, Aggie victory.
Food. This includes desserts to dinner and leftovers. It’s amazing that recipe’s created prior to the second world war and cooked on stoves/ovens older than myself keep on filling my tummy with wonderful goodies every year.
Watching kids open presents. Their eyes light up as the paper goes flying and boxes get ripped. As an adult, it always feels like the number of presents kids get today has increased exponentially since you were a kid. Yeah, and they are way more sophisticated.
Sports on TV. Pro and college football. Pro and college basketball. Hockey. Golf. Bowling. Need I go on??
Push
Family/Friends. I could go on and on about this one. When visiting from out of town, and the last time you were in town was a year prior, it can be a challenge to accomplish the feat of seeing everyone you would like and not pissing anyone off. This is a push. Think about it, you fly in with gifts for a pre-determined amount of people, then a bunch of people show up that you weren’t expecting. You don’t even know half of their names, but you feel awkward that you have a present for everyone else and not them. And then to make it even worse, they have a present for you because they knew you were coming ahead of time. Granted, they bought it on the way over, but they still have one. Then come the old stories and pictures. This can be fun, but awful at the same time. I had the greatest time listening to my grandfather and my great aunt (grandmother’s sister), tell about when they were growing up and remembering people’s names and places. We are talking about people born in the late 20’s and early 30’s here. That is before WWII. And they remember the details with such clarity that it is amazing. And then all the pictures come out of you with no clothes on as a child running around the house with a toy gun and cowboy hat. It can be enough to drive people to therapy. The only sensible thing to do, is find more pictures of OTHER people that are just as embarrassing.
Cons
Dishes. Trash. Someone has to take care of it. Just glad I am not low man on the totem pole anymore.
Over indulgence. Turkey, ham, dressing, corn, mac/cheese, green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, carrots, broccoli/rice/cheese, all on the same plate followed by pound cake, pecan pie and ice cream. Repeat every 2 hours. It is too much for any human digestive system to handle.
Holiday spending and traffic. I believe the WORST traffic I have ever experienced was driving from Fort Worth to College Station on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Absolutely horrendous. Mall traffic in any city on the last weekend before Christmas is terrible. Hulen St. in Fort Worth, TX, 1960 in Houston, TX, IH 610 by the Galleria in Houston, TX, Dallas Tollway in Dallas, TX, and Rockville Pike/Wisconsin Ave in Maryland/Washington, DC from the Friday after Thanksgiving until Christmas.
What do you feel are Pro’s and Con’s? These stories are great to read.
