Holiday stress or fond memories

Why do all the things that I used to love when I was a kid really stress me out now? Here let me make a list:

Pumpkin Carving
Trick-or-treating
Valentine's Cards
Dying Easter Eggs
The Easter Bunny
Santa Clause
Tooth Fairy

I have very fond memories of all these events/characters in my childhood. I really want my kids to have the same memories but I seem to get so stressed when each one comes that I know I make it awful for them. When K was little I used to make Chris do the egg dying, it had to be outside and I had to be far, far, away from it. The same with pumpkin carving.

I stress out about the Bunny, the Fairy, and the Big Guy EVERY year. I sometimes wish I had never started the tradition/fantasy/LIE. Sometimes I just want credit for the gifts, and really it's getting harder and harder to keep up the charade when we have older (smarter) kids in the house.

What brought this on was the Valentine Cards AAAHHHH the stress. The girls did theirs pretty easily, but C was another story. He pooped out about 1/4 of the way through then wanted me to do them, and then there were tattoos involved, and stickers, then to top the whole thing off he forgot them at home and I had to drive all the way back to get them. He's only at school for 1 1/2 hours so it's not like I have a bunch of time.

I'm thinkin' of just breaking C and O's hearts this year and just not letting L have the choice. I know I'll chicken out though and keep it up...sucker.

Comments

Whacky Wheelers said…
OMG . . . it's not a SIMPLE thing anymore!!! Your Valentine has to have candy, pop up and dance!! We were going to do homemade ones . . . just to be different this year . . . until he saw some with the tatoos!! 99% of the Valentines that he got had candy and tatoos!!

It will be hard to look at you and Chris from now on without calling you Chicken Nugget and Pig!!

You two (and your family) are awesome!!
February 17, 2010 at 3:48 PM
Melody said…
Oh, please keep it up. It bothers you a little but think how much it would hurt the kids. The only time they get to have fantasies is when they are little, they don't need to know the real world realities yet. Everyone should be a child as long as they can!!
February 19, 2010 at 12:01 PM
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