The Physics of THE HOLIDAYS (DumDumDUUUUM!)

 'Tis the season. Shoppers are shopping. Loved ones are loving. Planners are planning. Those of us who are not planners are struggling. We pray our loved ones are really good at loving. For the past few years, my family has approached the holiday season as if it's some hybrid between a strategic invasion and cleaning the toilet. There's a lot of maneuvering and a fair bit of groaning. A pinch of procrastinating until we all realize it's December 20th and no one knows where anyone else is going to be in four days. Add to the mix that we are a family that includes divorce, remarriage, multi-culturalism, pets, and some distance and I think you can all understand why we've ended up as we are. Any other time of the year, none of these elements are an issue. But at THE HOLIDAYS, they all converge.

In considering a direction for this entry, I looked up the word "physics." It is defined as "Phys·ics: noun (used with a singular verb) the science that deals with matter, energy, motion, and force." I think there most certainly could be a physics of THE HOLIDAYS. Let's break it down - in a list, Alison.  :)

1. Matter. Well, that one's easy. THE HOLIDAYS definitely focus on matter, in a manner of speaking. Let's use a little artistic license and shift the definition of matter in this case. THE HOLIDAYS are hugely centered around what MATTERS to us. What people matter to us? What traditions? What beliefs? In my family, we have a lot of traditions that matter. My dad always does a Christmas Eve service, which I look forward to all year. It matters to me to be there on that night. My sister and I have a tradition of cooking a breakfast on Christmas morning while everyone else is asleep. We share it with them, of course. It's not just for us. It's a tradition for my mom to always put orange tic-tacs in our stockings. Don't know why that's important, but it is. If they weren't there, it wouldn't feel like Christmas. The year I couldn't afford to fly home from LA, it mattered to me that I wouldn't see my family for the holiday. It mattered that it wouldn't be cold and snowy. This year, living in Chicago now, it matters that I can drive home on a moment's notice to be close to everyone.

2. Energy. If you don't instantly see how this fits in, you must celebrate the season on a deserted island every year. The energy of the world around us - not literally the whole world, just our personal world - shifts significantly. You can't escape the Christmas carols in malls, drugstores, and restaurants. People either look more stressed out or more cheerful, depending on their disposition. Shoppers are more ruthless - though they're absolutely unapologetic on the day after Thanksgiving. I've found the cold air sends a cheery energy through me. Unexpected, having just spent four years in the very moderate climate of LA. The music of the season fills carolers with energy, and hopefully spreads to their audience. Kids are practically a tornado of energy, waiting for Santa Claus and his presents. Adults have to find energy for shopping, driving, traveling, wrapping gifts, assembling gifts, cooking, preparing for family, preparing for in-laws - which are a totally separate breed of family. It can be exhausting or it can be exhilarating.

3. Motion. I feel like things move faster during THE HOLIDAYS. Drivers are trying to get places quicker. Shoppers are trying to beat the rush for all the good deals or most in demand items. Families are moving towards some center - either a parent's home or grandparents. For a few years, my dad's side of the family converged on one lucky hotel for a day or two and did Christmas there. Grocery stores - well, the lines there actually move slower. And in that situation, people's mouths sometimes move faster than their brains and rudeness shoots out of them. It's hard to keep up with all the holiday motion. Sometimes I find I'm spending faster than I realized and end up with ten gifts for one person and one gift for the other ten people. It's very important to keep a list.

4. Force. I think anyone who loves the holidays, despite the craziness, feel the force behind them. Cynics can say it's all a hustle by the stores or greeting card companies to squeeze money out of us. But I think it's something bigger than that. There truly is a force that drives me at this time of year. It has something to do with the magic of the season - something that's hard to hold onto past childhood. But it's there if you let yourself believe in it. Go to Disneyland at the holidays and watch it "snow" in southern California. (I'm serious, I cried.) Watch the kids. Watch the people you've found the perfect gift for light up when they open it. Look around at who has gathered around you, despite traffic and weather and life. Look at the people who volunteer their time to help people who don't have people. I started out this paragraph unsure of how to describe this force, but I think it's hope. How lucky - it doesn't cost anything to give that.

Happy Holidays.