I decided to take a vacation from the holiday this year. Not a vacation over the holiday, but a vacation from the holiday. While I will go into excruciating detail with my therapist, I won’t go into many details here. She gets the juicy details, you do not – sorry. Maybe when I get around to writing a book or publishing my journal, I’ll share the details. For now, they are to remain private.

Christmas presents were bought, but without the fanfare of seasons gone by. I typically love to buy things for others. I think about it for months, purchase them or create them far in advance, then wait with a giddy smile as they open the packages from me. This year, it was very different. Since late in the summer, the stress in the house has been more than I can stand most days. It made the Christmas present season come without the normal joy or anticipation. A discussion with the wife concluded that I wasn’t to buy any large presents for anyone, but especially none for her. This pretty much took the holiday down to just waiting for it to happen with trepidation, not with anticipation. It was a very different holiday.

One of the biggest challenges this year was finding an appropriate Christmas card for my wife. Given everything going on at home, I struggled to find the Hallmark card with an appropriate greeting. While they may advertise as having the perfect cards, they do not have them for every sentiment or every occasion. I came to find out that she also struggled to find the right card this year. We exchanged cards before the kids woke up, and that was for the best so as to not have anyone question what was going on or wanting to see the card with our sentiments.

It has been a tough year for us, and I’m ready to put it behind us and have a better new year, no matter what next year brings. However, I’m glad the stress of the holidays are over and now we can just deal with moving forward once her (big) annual meeting concludes in late February.