Holiday Survival Guide - Lower Your Expectations

We had our Thanksgiving meal early this year. I was all ready to sit down and write a post about how disappointed I was with our gathering, then my guilt kicked in. Instead, I have decided that from now on, I am not going to expect the perfect Norman Rockwell-ish results. I am a pessimist by nature; I feel that I can always be pleasantly surprised.

I am not going to whine about the fact that my Mom accidentally popped an Ambien instead of her blood pressure medication right before I arrived. I won’t grumble about how I had to clean Mom’s kitchen before I could even think about setting out the food me and my siblings brought for dinner. I refuse to attack my Dad’s character because we had to debate the functionality (or lack thereof) of their electrical system before he would let me plug in a power strip needed for the warming plates and crock pots soon to arrive. I can’t explain to you the number of times my Mom asked me which platters she should bring out for all the food. I don’t think she understood that we were to serve ourselves warm food for a change. Our typical is cold food served out of impeccable silver platters. I have given up even trying to figure out how my youngest sibling is such a Princess that she cannot even be bothered to take her own dish to the kitchen.

It’s not worth it.

My Parents are elderly, I need to understand what that means. I need to forgive their transgressions. I commit to stop stressing about family gatherings. Rather, I will from this moment on suggest that any future caucuses happen in a restaurant setting. We function well in a confined space and predetermined time frame.

Life is too short. Enjoy your family. If you cannot do it honestly, it is my true belief that this is the exact reason alcohol or (in my Mom’s case) pharmaceuticals were invented.

Happy 2009 Holiday Season!