Most people dread the holidays to a certain extent—some more than others. Anyone who’s grown up in a dysfunctional family, endured a bad marriage, or experienced some holiday tragedy is apt to feel apprehensive when Thanksgiving draws near. If you’re one of those people, here’s the good news: If, by some miracle, you made it through last weekend with no major glitches or mishaps, things turned out far better than expected. Hooray, you survived those holiday jitters & are now feeling post-holiday relief.
Of course, a few things went wrong. The weather was awful. You got stuck in the snow. No one ate the sweet potatoes. The rolls got a little burned. Some of the kids were whiny. Someone strained their back.
But: There was plenty of delicious food to eat, and the turkey was done on time. Everyone was in good health. No one got really sick (maybe an upset tummy or two from too much pie.) , or ended up in the ER. There were surges of pure joy upon seeing the faces of beautiful grandchildren and reuniting with far away loved ones. Everyone got along really well and enjoyed being together. The whole family seemed to bond.
All in all, there was much to be thankful for. You will never erase the bad memories of unhappy holidays long ago. But if you accentuate the positive, and eliminate the negative, you will make it through the New Year.
Now that the first holiday of the season is over, you may feel exhausted. It’s going to be a long Monday if you have to go back to work. But if anyone asks whether you had a good Thanksgiving, you can smile and say, ” yes, I did.”
If you feel the pre-holiday jitters coming on again, just remember that song made famous by crooner Bing Crosby: