In Search of a New Rhythm

At the risk of sounding bah-humbug-ish, I’m glad the holidays are over. They are fun and uplifting in many ways, but they’re also a source of pressure and unrealistic expectations. And, of course, in 11 months or so, they will be back again. Some years, it can seem like next week.

But the “holidays” (a term which almost always should have quotes around it) are just the beginning. After New Year’s Day, what’s next?  Super Bowl Sunday. Valentine’s Day. The Oscars. St. Patrick’s Day. March Madness. Major League Baseball. Easter. Cinco de Mayo. Dads and Grads. July 4^th. (August is pretty much dark.) Labor Day. Back to School. Football. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Black Friday. Christmas/Hanukkah et al….and then we begin again. (Apologize if I left something out).

All of these occasions seem to be reasons for eating, drinking, or spending money. From a commercial point of view, there doesn’t seem to be much “down time” anymore. I guess I’m more tuned into this because I used to work in newsrooms, and in the absence of actual news events, there were always the obligatory stories that seemed to go with some holiday-ish season. Some of these days, like Halloween, might as well be actual holidays, as the observance of each seems to intensify as the years pass.

Now please don’t get me wrong – I have enjoyed many of these  – some, of course, much more than others. But there are times I get that treadmill sensation. I sometimes dream of vacationing in another country where they don’t observe some of these things, just to have a season “off.”

Holidays in other countries can actually be interesting. I flew to New Zealand once, and the plane was packed to the gills. It wasn’t just because New Zealand was that popular. I just happened to be flying there just before Waitangi Day, their national holiday, which happens in February.

But if traveling to such a place isn’t an option, the only other one is to take charge of your life and decide exactly what you’re going to participate in. Yes, it involves a certain amount of swimming against the tide. But since this is the season for resolutions, I am going to try to make 2014 at least a little different.