holiday season

my family celebrates christmas. not as a religious tradition in my family but as an american tradition. in america, we celebrate fourth of july, thanksgiving, and christmas. For us, it has very little to do with the historic traditions of america as it has to do with the current traditions- you don't have to go to work, eat lots of good food, and hang out with friends and family. Then for each particular holiday, there are certain rites associated with it. Fourth of July is all about going somewhere else, e.g. our summer vacation, and seeing the fireworks. Thanksgiving is all about the big potluck meal we have together as a family (extended included). for those who know how to cook and enjoy it, it is where we get to really have fun whipping up stuff. in recent years, have started to play board games together. though with a little nephew that requires a lot of attention, it was a bit hard to carry on a game this year. then christmas is about having another big dinner and giving each other gifts.

The gift giving part has caused me a lot of stress as I have gotten older. My husband spent a part of the afternoon yesterday telling me, "it's okay dear. You are an adult now. you pay your own rent. it is okay." It just cracked me up. The funny thing is that I don't recall having this kind of a fear as a kid- fear that what I give isn't good enough. This was a fear that developed as I got older.