'Tis The Cold Season in the North, and winter, of some variety is coming. ‘Tis the hot season in the south, and I can only assume that the seasonal equivalent of snow is rains of fire. So, good luck down there! * (I lived in Lesotho for two years, which is pretty far south, so I can attest that the rains of fire are much less fun.)

For some reason, as the days grow shorter, (again in the north,) someone decided to bunch a whole lot of holidays together. Perhaps to celebrate with light and joy while the nights are so dark. * (Assuming this wasn’t all cooked up by people in the southern hemisphere so that they would have some use for all those fires.)

I don’t actually think that the stress is the reason, but the end of the year does seem to tack on a lot of it. I don’t think that stress is the reason for the season. Still, it seems like a lot, right? Planning, shopping, prepping, cooking, cleaning, wrapping, gifting, travel near and far, visiting, sharing, worshiping, eating, partying, cleaning up. It’s all life things: stuff we do, (some of it anyway) all the time, all the mundanity of life, but but there’s more of it, in a more compacted time, and maybe done with a bit more glitz and glamour.

Unless you eschew some, most, or all of that, because you don’t want to be overwhelmed, because you can’t afford the time/money/effort. or your job/life needs you even though the holiday season is also the season of time of. That, to, is understandable. I’m sure some people who find themselves in these situations feel like they are missing out. Others probably do not.

Holidays are supposed to be celebrations. Gatherings are supposed to be fun. We are, supposedly, gathering with people we want to see, and perhaps sharing memories of those we can see no longer. But that’s just the way things are supposed to go, and so often so much can get in the way.

Is there a point to all of this?

Not really.

It’s the holiday season and I wanted an excuse to post my seasonal lattean art.

But I guess, if there was something else to say it hinges on the words mundanity. Planning, shopping, prepping, cooking, cleaning, wrapping, gifting, travel near and far, visiting, sharing, worshiping, eating, partying, cleaning up. It’s life things: stuff we do, (some of it anyway) all the time. Things can become rote, methodical, repetitious. And when they do, it can be nice to have something to break that cycle. Things can become chaotic and overwhelming, and when they do, it can be nice to have something which resets the cycle, and allows for a new balance. There is also the possibility that things are simply going great, and you want to share that with others, and I always hope there are more people in this category than any other.

But where ever this message finds you this holiday season, I hope that you make the holidays what you need them to be. And If you don’t, try not to worry about it too much, that’s just life, and if we are lucky we’ll have the next holiday season to try it again. If we don’t we’ll have every day we have to try and do what we want to do,

So find the people you want to be with, and hang out. Or send them a message when this is impossible. Bake some cookies. (I’m going to be lazy next week and all I am posting is a cookie recipe and some goofs.) Read a good book (hint hint.) If you’re in the south, have a good braai (American Translation Barbeque) with all that extra fire.

And enjoy the Lattean art, which I did make last hear, but I’m note sure enough people saw.