I texted a friend that I was feeling grinchy this weekend. I spent Saturday running some last errands so that I could get ready for a gathering next weekend and then got home and took a look at the recent COVID numbers and realized that I was not going to attend an indoor event that involved multiple households next week, not even vaccinated households.
But it wasn't just that. Not really. I hadn't begun listening to holiday music, I hadn't put up a sparkle tree, I basically have - other than getting presents shipped - had done very little to acknowledge the season.
And someone tweeted that the Solstice was soon and I felt something relax a bit.
This time of year where our half of the world gets dark is hard. There's a reason so many cultures designed gatherings with food and light. Even without a pandemic it's hard.
It's hard if you figured out a way to gather safely with your peeps (video chat counts!) or are huddling close to home.
I'm a big believer that the best kind of holidays are ones where you are expected to eat food at regular intervals and just be. A stretchy bottoms all day kind of holiday.
Your ideal holiday may look a little different and may also not be this week.
But for my fellow Northern Hemisphere folks, soon the light returns. And that is quite delightful.
