Tradition

Christmas this year felt more like an ordeal and an obligation than anything celebratory. Usually I enjoy having a reason to get people gifts and to indulge my obsession for toys and books. This time, I just sort of forgot.

Not that anyone can really forget about Christmas. Six weeks of decorations and terrible music will ensure that anyone leaving their home knows it's magic time once again. I guess I forgot that it actually applied to me. That being stressed and distracted was no excuse for not feeling the joy.

I started to pull it together a week ago, giving myself just enough to get a few gifts and the odd festive bow. And since I didn't nag him, Shawn also forgot. Until Thursday he was under the impression that Christmas Day was sometime next week. I didn't really feel bad about this until everyone started to congratulate us on our first Christmas as a married couple. Isn't it just the most exciting thing ever? And aren't we going to have so many special memories? Uh, definitely.

The worst part was on Christmas Eve, when we ran out of time doing our last-minute stuff and ended up eating dinner at McDonald's. So much for special memories. But then I remembered that I actually had a precedent. When I was young, my parents had lobster for dinner every Christmas Eve. Since we were too young and picky to waste good lobster on, Dad would buy McDonald's for the kids. We rarely had fast food, so it was a huge treat for us, much preferable to the lobster our parents were stuck with. So really, scarfing down fries on Christmas Eve is actually a cherished family tradition.

Okay, that might be pushing it, but at least it made me laugh. But it made hanging out at McDonalds on Christmas Eve feel a little less pathetic.