The Holiday Race

December 27, 2025

The holidays are most certainly a marathon, and not a sprint.  It’s December 27th and I feel like I am at about mile fifteen.  A little past halfway, but nowhere near the home stretch.  Not that I have any true frame of reference for the real thing.  I ran an actual 5K once and that was marathon enough for me. But this holiday season has felt especially long and drawn out, full of overindulgences that I have been unable to avoid.  Or maybe I should say unwilling to avoid. Self-control seems to be nearly impossible with all the temptations that the holidays seem to generate.

Let’s see, where do I begin? I’ve been drinking alcohol every day for over a week.  Not to excess, but close enough.  I have eaten my way through roast beef, ham, perogies, a Mexican buffet and several pizzas.  Regardless of not being a lover of sweets, I have also gorged on every sugary treat that people felt compelled to give us during this holiday season. Top all this off with too little sleep, too much conversation and way too much social activity, and you have a recipe for misery.  At least for me.

Of course, then I remember the true meaning of Christmas, and I feel a little better.  Just so we are clear, I am talking about gifts now.  Facetiously of course! Witnessing my grandkids and others, zealously ripping through boxes covered with decorative wrapping paper, like they are starving hyenas on a bloody carcass in Kenya, just makes everything feel right about the holidays. Because let’s be honest with ourselves; giving people that already have too much, more “things”, is always the right thing to do. Clearly, it ‘tis the season to be excessive!

And now, today is my 63^rd birthday.  Another mile marker in the holiday marathon for me.  I am never very good with the whole birthday thing either.  But this year, as I sit here typing, plump and bloated from gluttony, with my jeans unclasped and my shirt stretching its buttons to the limit of thread endurance, I feel reasonably good about it. What can you do anyway? I guess it is better to have a living birthday than to not have one.  I don’t really want anyone to be saying “Well now let’s see, if Jim was still around, he would be 63, I think”.  That doesn’t sound very good to me.  Not at all!  So, I have a whole new thought process about birthdays.  Keep ‘em coming.

But truthfully, if we think about it rationally, the holiday season features way too much of everything.  Except for maybe goodwill and love.  After all, the holidays should be about just that. Finding ways to create lasting memories, connecting with family and friends, and gaining joy in the simple act of giving time to, and for, one another.

Yes, we talk a lot about these things. We sing time honored holiday songs about these things. But do we listen to what we are singing?  Because giving peace, love and joy appears to rarely be our focus. Nor is it in any way front and center, which is where it should be. Maybe I am wrong, but that is how I feel.

To me, I see everything as overdone.  We seem to, all too often, go way too far.  Nothing ever comes in moderation. From the holiday music and television, the social activities, the food, the gifts, the traffic, and even the weather.  Everything is just pushing the limits. And, if I can be a little selfish, throwing a fricking birthday into the mix is just unfair. It helps take the jolly and merry right out of the season for me.

So today, that’s all I am going to say.  Because expressing any more would contribute to the excess of decadence we are all already suffering from.  So, I am dropping out of this race.  Besides, I smell something cooking in the kitchen that I had better investigate.  And I think I just heard a champagne bottle open.  It might just be time for a mimosa! Yes, it is ok to be a holiday hypocrite on your birthday.