Help to Make the Season Bright

December 21, 2007

WARNING: This post contains candid scenes from inside my head. I'm not as crazy as House, but...Viewer discretion is advised.



My nemesis is sneaking up and lurking in the corner again--D. E. Pression is hanging around and just will not go away. I feel like I'm being stalked and I've watched enough Law and Order to know that I don't have to be a victim of stalking. Someone tall and handsome and a just little surly will come to my rescue, right?


I've been holding the creep off pretty successfully for a few weeks, but he is getting pretty insistent. I absolutely refuse to let him get me, so today was a day of service, present-wrapping, recognizing miracles like just the right person calling at just the right moment, shopping, singing loud to the stereo, cleaning, and making ta-da lists. Being aware and proactive really helps. For me, a little healthy anthropomorphizing helps as well (for those of you who aren't geeks like me, that's the process of picturing of my problem as a person and talking about him derisively).

Here's the ta-da for today:
Evan and I had to go to Target at the unholy hour of 5 pm to get a birthday present for a party that I heard about in passing while at a concert last week, but never heard from the mom about or saw an invitation. Therefore, it was not on my radar and the need for a gift was unknown to me as I was out shopping earlier in the day. Because I'm working so hard to keep my emotions under control, Not only did I not get upset, but I consciously decided to make it a memory instead of a nightmare. I told Evan to strap himself in for an adventure. We counted how many cars back we were from traffic lights, made bets on how many cycles of said lights we'd have to wait through, estimated the distance of our parked car from the store in light-years, fantasized about having the
Millennium Falcon show up to help us get out of the traffic, turned up the rock and roll and sang loud while we air-guitared and drummed, timed how long it took us to get out of the parking lot (18 minutes and 42 seconds), and other stuff like that. We ended up laughing our heads off at times, and believe me, I needed the endorphins. I appreciate his fabulous sense of humor. Miraculously, in spite of the insanity of the parking lot, Target was a dream-no lines, friendly people, etc. Even better was that they had THREE packages of my ridiculously hard-to-find favorite toilet paper (I am a TP snob like Mendy). I was literally climbing the shelves to get the last one. That definitely goes in the count-my-blessings file.

Anyway, I'm keeping ugly old D.E. in time-out in the corner. He'll get tired of waiting and leave eventually, but until then, I am incredibly grateful for all my blessings, chief among them being the people in my life right now. As long as I have something to do for or with someone else, I'll be fine. I have lots to be thankful for and lots to look forward to. The fact that I have delivered not one plate of cookies, sent not a single card, nor sent out thank you notes from my birthday 4 months ago is not a reason to let the villain in and entertain him. Some people are wonderfully talented at the niceties. How I love and admire them. I want to be them when I grow up. For now, I will look up to them and keep trying to just be nice. Like most people, I'm my own worst critic, but there is just no time for that at such a happy time of year. I need to remain positive.

The upshot for me is that I think it really is true that if you smile at the world (even if it is a slightly fake smile), the world will smile back. Usually.


So I will keep smiling. Thanks for always smiling back.

11 comments

  1. that is good Evan was your errand buddy to help keep the creature at bay. oh how yucky winter 5pm traffic with holiday shopping on top of it is!! kudos to you for braving it with smiles. :D

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  2. You are such a fun mom. What an inspiration you are that you didn't stress. I'm always afraid of those last-minute gifts you need, so at Target today (popular place)I bought a gift card just in case I run into someone who needs a present. I've never delieverd cookies (because I'm no good at baking) so don't feel bad for not delivering any. I'm going to try for a positive attitude like you have.

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  3. Holy cow, I saw the craziness that was the surrounding traffic of Target last Saturday, got scared, and turned around - good for you for sticking it out with a positive attitude!!:) Wishing you happy moments a-plenty Kellie!

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  4. I loved this post what a wonderful way to deal. For a moment there I really thought you were being stalked, but then I got it... just a wee bit slow. :-) Thank you for your insight and your example.

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  5. Hey, D.E. has been visiting my house as well! Ugh. I love the way you've looked on the bright side of things. _I_ personally am not good at the niceties, and I would consider YOU one of those people, so I suppose we should all put things in perspective. Everyone gets a pass during Christmas. Do what you can do and keep ugly old D.E. away!

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  6. Who knew that DE stalks most people and not just me. He (has to be a he) is a swine and needs to be in time out and eventually he'll go get someone else. but holding it all in can be tough so it is OK to let it out and have a good bawl? then stick him back in time out.
    We love you

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  7. I have been thinking about you, and sending good thoughts your way. You are always so thoughtful and sweet to me when I am in this mode. I hope the visit is short lived. You amaze me with your strength in fighting it. I am trying to learn that. Love you.

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  8. Oh my friend. I'm so glad I got to have you at my house for a final round of pre-Christmas guffaws. I dearly love you and hope you know that just being around you is enough of a thanks for ANYTHING I'd ever do for you :)

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  9. What a great post, Kellie. I think I might try using your anthropomorphizing next time I'm feeling "stalked." I love how you approached your Target trip. You are awesome!

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  10. Hmm, someone tall, dark, and just a little surly sounds really great, actually. Keep smiling!

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  11. okay, so I already commented way back when but I had to say what a dufus I was that I didn't get "who" D.E. Pression was. whoosh! over my head! which line was I standing in when the "gets jokes" gene was handed out??

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