What is it with the month of December? Why do people go out of their way to do things they don’t want to do?
You can turn some painful situations around by cutting all the crap and making room for a jolly-tipsy-tooriloo-didu holiday spirit. You will be happier and your loved ones and dogs will be too.
Allow me to illustrate my point with some examples:
Getting together with people you haven’t seen once throughout the year:
If it’s already been a year and you honestly don’t feel like seeing them, don’t. You are entitled to decide who you spend your time with and if it hasn’t happened why force it (or fake it) now? Tell them the truth or make an excuse, but make things easy on you. Who knows? Maybe you will be also doing them a favor.
Feigned joy around a carefully decorated dinner table complimented with a subtle scent of drama thickening the air:
Avoid any dinnertime disasters in your home: if you are expected to be the host and don’t feel comfortable with certain guests, don’t invite them.
Avoid any dinnertime disasters away from home: If you are an expected guest at a home you don’t want to go to: don’t go.
Again, you can tell the truth or make an excuse. Suggested excuses:
“This holiday season I am following a strict diet so I will restrict the number of dinners I participate in, but thank you very much for the invite.”
“This holiday season I am going to take some time for reflection so I’ll be seeking some quiet and lonely time. Thank you and have a wonderful holiday.”
“My dog is shedding a lot of hair so it’s best that we don’t meet at my place.”
Family issues:
Us dogs have quite a different take on family from the one people have so it’s hard for me to share any ideas on this issue that will resonate with you. In any case, here they are:
Just because someone is family doesn’t mean you have to like them or want to spend time with them. You shouldn’t bark (yell in your case) or be mean to them but keeping a comfortable distance should be totally acceptable.
To me, family are those you share good and bad times with, those you laugh and also get angry with. The rest are just people sharing the world with you.
In-laws issues:
This is too delicate of an issue for me to comment on and according to my Lady, my opinion is too socially incorrect to write it down on a blog. All I can say is that I feel for you. You could apply the same ideas expressed on family issues.
Dieting before, during or after the holidays:
Either eat or don’t eat but whatever you do, do it with enjoyment. If you decide to eat but are worried about your weight, do some exercise. That’s what I do. My Lady strictly watches my weight and if I gain half a pound we exercise and diet for a couple of days. She never lets my weight get out of hand. With only 3 paws it’s very important for me to stay fit. In general loosing half a pound is easy, so don’t wait until you stack up 5 pounds to take action. This advice is good for all year round.
Conclusion:
- It all comes down to saying: “no, thank you”. Sometimes you owe it to yourself.
- If you unfortunately find yourself in the middle of a dining room drama, you can always get up and very politely say: “this is not what I expected this reunion to be and I am feeling quite uneasy, please excuse me (a moment of silence to slightly bow your head and smile). Continue your party without me”. And leave! Your dog will be happy to greet you at home earlier that he expected! Another option is to leave the dining table to go to the bathroom and sneak out the house unnoticed.
- Any time badly spent is time you could have spent with those you really care for.
As for me, I do like the holiday season. I like Frank Sinatra’s Christmas carols. Yes sir, I do! Our Lady and our Mate have more time off. We go to our family’s place for dinner and we eat cheese, ham and bread.
Hug those you love dearly, and set out to make it the best holiday ever in their company.
I’d love to hear your ideas on how to have a good time and avoid stress this holiday season. Leave your comments down below! 🙂
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