It seems that Mercury has picked an unruly time to go retrograde. Right before the holidays? Come on. We are all dealing with the stress of it.  Miscommunication seems rampant, and I think it’s worse because there is the added stress of the holidays.

Maybe women more than men, but I could be wrong. It’s just that in my life experience, the women take the brunt of the work for Christmas. Like, shopping….ok, my case was extreme because of the man I was married to, but I did all the shopping. And wrapping.  Every last present. I only had one kid, but that’s enough when you are working, managing a house, etc. Then I had to make sure the gifts got mailed, in time to reach whoever they needed to reach. All of my family’s gifts were mailed.

That alone, having to buy all the gifts, made me a little bitchy.  Without the added help of Mercury Retrograde.

Then there are cookies. Dozens of cookies of many varieties. When I was married, I made literally 70 dozen cookies. Special Christmas only cookies. I made so many because I gave them away a lot, to teachers, and bus drivers, and CCD teachers, and friends. The last 5 or 6 years in CT my BFF and I would get together to make them. We could bang them out in about 5 hours and have some fun with it. But I usually went home to make a couple more. The picture below was a days work last year here in FL, by myself.

Then of course, meals. Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. We women generally plan it all….and cook most of it. It’s not like Thanksgiving in sheer volume, but it’s a lot of food. Happily, I am with a man who loves to cook, and/or help cook. But for years, for me, I was alone or just doing it all alone anyway.

It was no wonder that Christmas Day I didn’t want to go anywhere. Maybe not even change out of my nightgown.

I remember getting to Christmas Eve dinner at my sister-in-law’s house when my son was young, and we still saw my ex’s family on holidays. I remarked to her, as my entitled ex parked himself in front of a wonderful dinner, “Can you imagine getting to Christmas Eve dinner and not having done ONE thing to make it happen?”

I sound like a grinch, don’t I? Well….let’s just say that things are different for me now. I am close to my family, now. I have an amazing man in my life, who wants Christmas to be a special thing too….and contributes just as much as me. (I have to laugh, a little. The entitled one will get a free dinner where he is, anyway, I guess. Karma is at work, for him and for me.)

On to start the Christmas cookie marathon. Love and light to all.