Breaking Through the Post-Christmas Depression
Ugh. This time of year is typically very hard for me. I love the holiday season so much, starting in September when I get out my pumpkin mugs and decorations. In October I put up Halloween decorations, on November 1st Thanksgiving, and then of course on Black Friday, the house is Christmas-ed to the max. Happy month! But then… My post-Christmas depression usually follows this schedule: The night of December 25th: NOOOOOOOOOO! It’s over. Extreme sadness. December 26th: Wait, this week is still The Holidays. Decorations are up, there’s delicious food and the kids are still home from school. This isn’t so bad! December 27th-31st: Mounting dread. All the decorations are going to have to come down- it’s going to be SO MUCH WORK. First Day Back to School: Full-on depression. Everything is officially over. Life seems dull and drab. The house looks horrible without festive decorations. This is terrible! How will I get through it? Several Days Later: Depression has lifted. The month of January seems blah, but otherwise I’m back to normal. I’ve tried all sorts of different things to mitigate the depression phase- taking down the decorations early, taking them down late, making the “un-decorating day” a little holiday with fun food… nothing works. But why should it work? Christmas and the months leading up to it are the best time ever- of course I’m sad when it’s over. As a matter of fact, I can’t understand why everyone isn’t depressed. What- you don’t like beautiful decorations, delicious food, gifts, and more time with your family? How do some people sail through the end of December unscathed? One year I was walking my son to school on the first day back and neighbors were calling out cheerfully “Happy New Year!” I was astonished that they weren’t sobbing silently to themselves, as I was. Last year was extra-special. As I’ve mentioned, my son and I both got Covid on Christmas Eve, so I was home from work the entire week between Christmas and New Year’s. After the first couple of days with the worst sore throat ever (me) and high fever (my son) we were both just tired and achy, and I spent the days resting on the couch with my cat on my lap. Because I was sick on Christmas, the house wasn’t properly cleaned so there were ribbons and wrapping paper strewn about, and opened presents placed haphazardly under the tree. It was a very lazy, cozy week… and I got SO DEPRESSED. It was the worst post-Christmas depression I’ve ever had. It seemed unbearably sad that my son would be going back to school (in two weeks) and that he wouldn’t be home for Easter. I knew I wasn’t thinking logically, but the thought that Christmas was over was terrible. This depression finally lifted after New Year’s Day, when I went back to work. (A quick word about my work schedule. I work at a spa which is closed five days a year: Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Easter, 4th of July, and Thanksgiving. Other than those days, if it’s a day I’m scheduled to work, then I’m expected to be there. Of course I can and do request days off, but I like to reserve them for things like taking my son to school in August, or going to Tampa with my daughter for All-State this month.) This year, Christmas fell on a Sunday which is my day off anyway. That meant I had no extra days off, and was scheduled to work Christmas Eve (although only until 1:00) and the day after Christmas. At first I thought I would hate that, and considered asking for at LEAST the day after Christmas off. But then I remembered the terrible depression of last year, and decided to see what would happen if I worked straight through. Well… The day after Christmas, not only did I go to work, but my son had a friend over. So on Christmas night after dinner I kicked it into high gear getting the house cleaned up. I got rid of all the wrapping paper, bows, boxes, and other festive clutter. I placed a few presents neatly back under the tree (like my rice cooker, which I wasn’t ready to unpack and start using right away) but mostly the house was tidied up. My Christmas night sadness was lurking in the background, but it felt SO GOOD to be busy and get the house cleaned. The next day I didn’t feel like going to work- but it was the best thing I could have done. It was a busy day, and aside from a few polite inquiries, no one talked about Christmas. It was so busy that there were stretches where I didn’t even think about what day it was. When I got home I was happy to see the Christmas tree and a nice clean house. The rest of the week was equally busy. On December 30th I suddenly thought “Would’t it be nice to celebrate New Year’s Eve without that old tree taking up half the living room?” After getting the kids’ approval, I moved quickly and took it down. I made a makeshift New Year’s Eve “display” and thought I would wait to take everything else down. But on New Year’s Day I had a burst of energy and a “let’s get this over with” feeling. I started the long process of “Grinching” the house. It is a LONG process because many things need to be laundered- sheets, pajamas, towels, tablecloths… every year when I put it all away I think “Why do I do this to myself?” But I know that next year on Black Friday I’ll be saying “I can’t wait to get out the Christmas shower curtains!” I took a page from Suzanne’s book, and kept my Christmas cards out. They’re the one thing I’m not ready to part with! I’ll keep them up (along with a string of white lights) as long they make