My Grinch Moment

gingersnap sammies w/ eggnog ice cream

monkey bread and mimosas on Christmas morning 

rocking around the Christmas tree  

overstuffed cream puffs 

2015 Christmas card win 

I’m not gonna lie, I’m in a bad way right now. My family just left after a crazy fun whirlwind Christmas, the Patriots lost to the Jets (although I don’t care about the loss per se, just the cause/effect of Brenty being bummed), and tomorrow is Monday, which means back to the grind. The only thing sending me from plummeting into a tailspin of post-holiday depression are some leftover cookies and the fact that the Hallmark channel is still playing Christmas movies.

The post-holiday struggle is real. And it’s only going to get worse once we take down the tree and undecorate the house. Until then, I’m gonna listen to my Michael Buble holiday station, bawl over the same three plots Hallmark movies have, and fill up on all the cookies and confections I forgot to give my parents for their five hour drive.

Yesterday my Dad and I were the first ones up and I mentioned how sad it was that Christmas was already over, after all the planning and effort we put into it. He informed me that Christmas wasn’t a day, it was a season. Instead of having a light-bulb moment, I was the petulant child he knows and loves and conceded, yeah yeah, whatever. Now that the family is gone and I’m sitting looking at our tree, still lit up in its Christmas finest, I realize the truth of those words; not unlike the Grinch and his “a-ha!” moment that Christmas doesn’t come from a store. My heart didn’t grow three sizes, and I didn’t get the strength of ten Grinches plus two…but I did realize my Dad was right. Christmas isn’t a day. It’s a season. It’s a feeling. December 25th has come and gone this year, but the love and peace of the holiday endures. 

That seems like small comfort while I’m sitting here, covered in cookie crumbs and browsing Christmas clearance on Hallmark.com, but baby steps, guys. In the meantime, I have the ten pounds I gained over the past four days sticking around for company.