Cha-Ching!

The Christmas season is finally over. The post-Christmas sales have begun. I'm already seeing ads for New Year's sales...

Did I mention that I CANNOT WAIT for this "season" to be over. I'm over it. The present pressure...over it. Fighting for parking spots just about anywhere...over it. Having the Peanut out of school for the week...SO over it.

Did anyone notice how many of the commercials on TV this year wished you a "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays"? I know that most of America doesn't really give a crap because they celebrate Christmas. But aren't we supposed to be a melting pot society? Can't we at least recognize that there are also plenty of people in this country (who shop at these friggin' stores all the time) who DON'T celebrate that??

Is Wal-Mart or Target wishing their Islamic customers a peaceful Ramadan? Or their Jewish customers an easy fast on Yom Kippur? Or their atheist customers just a plain old good day?

No, my friends, because Christmas has lost it's religious roots and has become a massive buying frenzy and those stores want your asses in there to buy shit from them, as quickly as possible. And, in their Christmas spirit, they stay open as late as they can on Christmas Eve to let you get as much as you possibly can, marking down prices to make it easier on your wallet. It is, after all, Christmas.

I think I would much rather have a calmer December. Celebrate the birthdays in MY family (including me). Get gifts for them (and me) and not be bombarded with all the rest. Take a nice vacation, sleep in a little, take the kids someplace special. But instead, we rush through the birthdays, combine them with holiday lunches and dinners and get slammed near the end of the month with the biggest commercial bruhaha known to man.

Do I sound bitter? Yes. But I don't care. I don't like feeling this way. I don't like anyone I know feeling this way.

Our Christmas Day was very relaxing for the most part. It's all the crap leading up to it that needs to end.

WHEN CAN THINGS GO BACK TO NORMAL???