I mean come on, it starts losing its shine after a while. The Christmas season is primarily what I speak of at this juncture. Why does Christmas get a whole season and MLK or July 4 in the middle of the week sucks. Cuz they get a season. The others get a day. Cram it all in people.
Thanksgiving’s no glide down the slope. You look around the dinner table and realize ten years ago you had more than twenty guests. But Thanksgiving 2024 consisted of five people yet it was still great. Took on a different dynamic. We all assumed new roles to mimic the pace as it used to be since it was orchestrated by people no longer present.
Is the perfect holiday a mirage people need? I get it. People get crazy and things never end up the way you anticipated. Expectations are rarely met. And this isn’t just about several of the usual guests being dead. It’s about those people being able to stage a stand up act where they knew when to throw in a zinger to derail a dull conversation. I used to leave those holiday parties with memories, belly aches and (most of all) an embracing feeling of comfort from being around people who got. No buffering of verbiage. No pretending. No acting.
The ones that get you and dial your best parts. The ones you don’t need to watch your delivery around. That dynamic lifts spirits. For me, that was what a holiday meant. No give. No take. Just an appreciation of friends and family that wasn’t staged. It doesn’t come back. You find a new rhythm.
I think that’s okay. Will it be better than it was? Let’s go with different.