Christmas Warzon Part II

So it's already started, and I've only been home an hour.

I would be banished to my room if I had a room. But since I'm sleeping on the couch, I'm sitting in my little sister's room.

Yep, I love Christmas.

Sometimes I don't know why I bother to care. Maybe next year I'll just stay at my apartment.

The Christmas Warzone

I don't know what Christmas is like in your house, but in my house every major family crisis coincides with a holiday. Coincidence? I think not.

It's not that we don't love each other. It's not that we don't understand the reason for the season. We love Jesus, we love each other, we love Christmas. It's just that any time you get my entire family under one roof....well...we generally just annoy the crap out of each other. Here let me set the scene for you.

It's Christmas Eve, like midday. We don't have the Christmas Eve Service until six, so we're all just hanging around the house, waiting, and watching the A Christmas Story marathon. My little sister is hiding in her room. I'm sitting on the couch, as is my brother-in-law. My older sister is in my bedroom changing my youngest niece's diaper. My mom is cooking. My dad is absent (at work, as usual at Christmas time) and we're all more than a little thankful that my brother didn't show up. Ok....you've got the scene. Now action.

Brother-in-Law: It's over, finally. [leans over to grab the remote]
Me: Um...what are you doing?
Brother-in-Law: Changing the channel. What do you think I"m doing? We already watched it, and its coming on again.
Me: That's sort of the point.
Brother-in-Law: Whatever. [changes the channel to ESPN]
Me: WHAT? Ok. If you're going to change the channel from A Christmas Story, fine, I get it. But it's Christmas Eve. Sports, really?
Brother-in-Law: Look, you're not the only person in the house.
Me: But its MY house.
Mom: [in warning tone] Mandy
Me: Whatever. [Want to retreat to my room but can't because I'm sleeping on the couch in favor of my brother-in-law and older sister. So I move to the piano and start to play Christmas songs to relieve my boredom]
Older sister: [coming into the room] Mandy, stop playing the piano. You're giving me a headache.
Me: Ok. [leave room and go to my little sister's bedroom.]
Little sister: Leave me alone.
Me: Just reading a book. [Sit down on the floor and start reading a book]
[five minutes pass, door opens and Mom appears]
Mom: What are you doing? Be with the family. Christmas is about family.
[Little sister glares at me because my coming to her room is what prompted Mom to come. We both get up and go to the main room. Little sister sits on the couch but is still on her computer. I read my book]
Older sister: I don't know why I bother to even come if you guys are just going to ignore us while we're here.
Little sister: I have work to do.
[I stay silent. Better to be silent than say something that will get me into trouble. Brother-in-law continues to ignore everyone by watching ESPN]

Eventually someone will say something, a fight will commence, and someone will end up in trouble. Probably me.

Christmas. I love it. I love everything it represents. But...I'm not going home until the 23rd. For good reason. I hate getting in trouble. I hate getting yelled at. And the longer I'm home, the greater the probability I will get in trouble.

Christmas was so much easier when we were kids. Now the youngest of us is 21 (discounting the nieces and nephew).

But I'll survive and there will be parts that will be fantastically awesome and loving. It's really a shame that the rest of Christmas is so war like.

Am I the only one who thinks Christmas can be like a warzone?

A Christmas Story: "Be Careful What You Wish For"

Warning: There be spoilers below. Though seriously, if you haven't seen A Christmas Story, then...well...you need to fix that.

Every year at Christmas, a major channel plays the movie A Christmas Story for 24 hours, which is great because its my grandfather's favorite Christmas movie and he has a habit of napping. He can nap all day and by the end of the day he's seen the entire movie.

So a Christmas story is about a kid who just really wants a bebe gun (not sure on the spelling there), but everyone keeps telling him he'll shoot his eye out. In the end, his dad gets him the bebe gun. He goes outside to play with it. He shoots it and knocks his glasses off, and he thinks he's shot his eye out. (He didn't. He breaks his glasses).

There is a clear message to this story. We all think we want something, like a gun. We want it more than anything and then when we get it, we break our glasses and cut our cheek. Nothing is ever like what we daydream. In Ralphie's case that means getting a bebe gun doesn't make him the sheriff of his town and capable of protecting his entire family from thieves. In most of our cases, it means that thing we asked for isn't going to fix our lives and make it better.

Sometimes we don't get what we want, but its often worse when we do get what we desparately think we want. We think moving out of the parental home will mean life can start, but suddenly there are bills and real world situations we never had to face before. We think getting married will be the answers to all of our prayers - because of course he's Prince Charming - but then we realize getting married means living with a boy who throws his socks on the floor. So think about what you're desperately asking for in life and your daydreams, and think about if the warnings people are giving you are true. You may indeed shoot your eye out. Does that mean you shouldn't go through with moving out or getting married? Not necessarily. Just learn from the movie. Be aware that nothing is like what you dream and that you should be careful not to shoot your eye out. And with a story prepared for your mother about how an icicle broke your glasses....

Just kidding. I, in no way, promote lying. But please, don't shoot your eye out.

December Plans

It's December and that means....CHRISTMAS!!!

Unfortunately it also means finals. I can pretty much guarantee I won't post anything until after my finals next week. Luckily my finals end next Wednesday. So what do I plan to do with this blog during my abundant Christmas break?

Like most people I intend to do a few Christmas themed posts, as a sort of Christmas countdown. Be prepared for not just any Christmas themed posts. This December I will be discussing "Everything Important About Christmas I Learned From Christmas Movies" Or EIACILFM for short. Yeah, I need to work on the name. Classic Christmas movies such as A Christmas Story and The Year Without a Santa Claus will be featured as well as newer Christmas classics like The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Santa Clause. Be prepared. It's going to be fantastic.

So see you after finals and good luck with your own!