Christmas Rage

Obsessive-compulsive, perfectionist, anal-retentive, all things I have been called. I acknowledge it, I know it, I own it, and I have no intention of doing anything about it other than to try really hard not to inflict my personal issues on anyone else around me.  And all that was diagnosed without sitting on someone else's couch, but admitting while sitting on my own couch... for free.

My friend and I have a term we use for the period of time before birthday parties, vacation and Christmas. We call it rage, meaning "too much to do in too little time".  Party rage and vacation rage end once the shopping, cleaning and party end, usually within a few days, but Christmas rage lasts the longest.
Christmas rage, for me, begins the week of Thanksgiving when I begin to ask the kids for their Christmas lists in preparation for Black Friday shopping.  Thanksgiving Day finds me surrounded by flyers, paper, a pen and their lists trying to find the best deals.  Then after we come home from dinners with family, I tuck the kids into bed and head for the stores, armed with my lists, checkbook and Diet Cokes.  The following day is spent getting a little sleep and then checking the internet for the items that I was unsuccessful in getting the night before.

Then there is a couple of days reprieve before Cyber Monday deals.  Then comes the beginning of December when, I swear, new commercials and toys come out and get added to the kids' lists as "must have items".  So back to the drawing board of trying to find deals in stores and online, coupons and online codes for percentages off and free shipping. 

Then I start with my own lists...cleaning that must be done before the holiday, baking, recipes, etc.  And for some reason, I have started to add more to my rage.  Instead of making the 3 kinds of Christmas cookies my Mom always made, I have added another kind as well as pecan bars, Rice Krispy treats and 2 kinds of fudge.  Instead of going to visit family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I have decided to host my immediate family of almost 30 on Christmas Eve which brings on a whole other list of festive appetizers and desserts to try out on them. 

And Christmas shopping brings out a whole other rage...parking and driving rage.  People cut you off when you're driving, they turn in front of you when you're walking, they steal parking places, and sometimes they're just plain mean and make you really feel like decking their halls, if you catch my drift.

So...to my family and friends, if I seem a little stressed or smile a little less, it is a day of Christmas Rage, please don't take it personally for it shall soon pass.  Oh yeah, and be prepared to duck, in case it's a particularly bad day, and a cookie sheet flies through the air like a frisbee at the beach, or a ball of wrapping paper cut too short to wrap a gift gets thrown across the room.  I promise, I really do try to control it LOL.