So the winter calendar goes Thanksgiving, Black Friday,
Office Holiday Party Debacle, Christmas, After Christmas Sale, New Year’s Eve,
Join A Gym Week, Super Bowl. All are ancient traditions handed down from
consumer to consumer over hundreds of hours in front of the TV.
The internet (thanks Al!) has now given us Cyber Monday and,
I think for the first time, Giving Tuesday. Maundy Thursday is later in the
year and has nothing to do with the internet as far as I can tell.
It is my duty as a long-time non-profit person to tell that
that maybe this Giving Tuesday thing is okay.
Your mailbox is going to be absolutely jammed up with moving letters
from worthy causes over the next couple of weeks (possibly including one from
me – please open it before you throw it away, thanks).
It is also the end of the semester, the end of the program
and/or fiscal year for some outfits, and the season of recitals & musical
event and holiday TV classics.
To recap, we have actual holidays, fake holidays, shopping
frenzy, holiday family distress & guilty, charitable pressure, and
deadlines all wrapped up into about a month. Small wonders people turn from
aspirin to sterner stuff this time of year.
So what to do? The answer is do what you can. You can’t do
everything. You can’t go to every party (I do try ) or find the perfect gift
for every quirky relative or give to every worthy charity. But you do what you
can. You are the only one who knows when to say “when” for you. Assess, prioritize, give it your best shot,
rest, and feel okay about it all. In approximately that order.
That’s my gift to you. Merry happy blessed, etc.
