2017 Home for the Holidays

Page 8 2017 Home for the Holidays LINCOLN DAILY NEWS November 22, 2017 in September is like walking by a crying child in public. I keep hoping that some parental figure will step in and ask what’s wrong, because clearly something bad has happened. Maybe popular culture makes it okay. Recent years has seen a trend in entertainment referred to as “Christmas in July.” A lot of television channels feature holiday movies… in the summer; when most people are getting back from vacation. Imagine coming back from Florida and thinking, “thank goodness I got away from all of the tourists. Now I can trade one set of seasonal anxieties for another.” Ignoring my television isn’t so bad; I do that most of the year anyway. I’ll just switch over to Netflix. Oh wait; they added Christmas movies in July, too (not kidding, they did that this year). Other people catch hold of a collective Christmas mood that I do not understand. All I see is a list of extra chores that have to be done, and I barely tolerate the things I already have to do. I already dislike shopping, but I do it every week because I like to eat and keep my life in order. Shopping for other people only serves to give me anxiety. I never know what to buy for others. Do I buy something secret; something they don’t realize I heard them express interest in? Or were they only kidding, in that weird way that people do when they see something interesting? Do I buy a gift card, an easy way to say “get what you want, I don’t care?” Or does that mean I’m giving up too easy? I may be a Curmudgeon, but that doesn’t mean I don’t put maximum effort into gift-giving. I always buy new bags at Christmas time. Every year I buy just enough bags to put presents in. This is because every year I tell myself I won’t buy any presents next year. I’ll finally find a cave to hide in from Christmas - a gift to myself. But then I remember that I don’t like the idea of “buying oneself a gift.” It sounds too pretentious. Whatever the case may be, I never buy wrapping paper. Someone invented a paper made solely to be destroyed. I wish I had that CONTINUED ===