One Word, Two Ways: Holiday

I must admit there is something about “the holiday season” that makes me uncomfortable.  Before you freak out, hear me out.  Of course the idea of hot chocolate, ice skating, cookie making and snowflakes fills my heart with cinnamony love; yet, the consumerism makes me feel yucky. To top it off, I want to give everyone the best present they have ever received, then in the end I choke and don’t give anything at all. So Christmastime sends me into a bit of a silent panic. The year however, my family has decided to only give each other gifts that we have made or found (my mom added that, which scares me).  This makes me feel like we are getting closer to real reason for Christmas and I like it.
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One morning earlier this week I re-listened to the A Very Special Sedaris Christmas episode on This American Life.  I’d seen it sitting there in my iTunes many times over the past year but the time to listen again never seemed right, for obvious reasons and all.  My favorite part is when he talks about the list he keeps of every present he receives each year, and how much he thinks it cost, so he can match it the next year.  It also made me want to revisit his Holidays On Ice, which I read a few years ago.  If you haven’t check either of these out, ’tis the season.