Tired

I'm tired this week. I feel overwhelmed. I think it's a combination of having a cold and a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder. I need more sunlight, but it's been raining for a couple of days. Today it's snowing. Oh no, winter! If I could only live in Hawaii. My mind is still back there in the sunshine.

Also, the thought of Christmas is looming. All the decorations, gifts to wrap, food to cook, shopping to do. I think I'm beginning to take on my father's famous "bah humbug" attitude about Christmas. I really hate to say that because I know it's such a joy for so many people. I hope I snap out of this mood and get into the holiday spirit. Things just seem so hard these days. I want to cut back on the budget, but all the kids want are expensive electronic toys. I think part of it is the rampant materialism. Watching kids on Christmas is getting a bit depressing. They look for packages with their name, open them, then go on to the next thing. When there are no more, they look around like "that's it?". Well, yeah, I can't afford many of those expensive things you love so much.

My niece makes me guard her Uggs when she goes in to gymnastics practice because it's well known that they will be stolen if she leaves them in a cubby. They have to have their electronics engraved with their names because they are likely to be stolen. All of this "stuff" obsession of kids is getting to me. I'm trying hard to get rid of a lot of the "stuff" in my own life. I would love to just live in a cottage on a beach, have a tiny wardrobe, and go barefoot every day.