My point for this post is that I love the magic of Christmas, but I often struggle to enjoy it due to the stress and depression that clouds this time of year. For the past few years I've taken out some of my grumpyness on Christmas music. I mean seriously, who needs to listen to "Jingle Bells" for three weeks? I still draw the line at people preparing for Christmas PRE -Thanksgiving (be thankful before greedy, people) and that includes playing Christmas music, but after Thanksgiving? Well...three weeks doesn't seem like such a long time anymore. As I was rolling into work blasting "There's No Place like Home for the Holiday's" I realized a big turn in my mood towards Christmas music is due to my work environment.
Let me fill you in on a well known EMS fact. EMS workers are GRUMPY! And boy do I mean grumpy. They rant about calls going to them and after dropping the patient off. They rant about co-workers, they rant about small paychecks, and in this season of increasing money draining stress, it seems everyone has ramped up their grumpyness several notches. At first, I sank right into the persuasive grumpy feelings, after all, I've been starting my annual grumpyness cycle in December for years. Usually I had to fight the annoying stream of holiday fervor, but here was a place where grumpyness was extolled! EMS has a good chance of cornoring the grumpy market this year, and I was happily wallowing in fellow feelings. Unfortunately, within a few days I realized how my work time grumpyness had exploded way past normal limits and was bleeding into my home life with Brian and Remus. Thats when I started listening to Christmas music on my way to work.
A little grumpyness is ok, but when it starts making me irritable and quick to anger it's time to reconsider. Being angry is such a miserable feeling, even righteous anger, for me, holds zero charm. Anger means conflict, conflict gives me a stomach ache and usually makes me want to hide under a rock. Why would I want to encourage a way of thinking that leads to perpetual anger? Yuck! Perish the thought! Since I am stuck in a grumpy environment for 12 hour shifts- more grumpyness than even seasonally depressed me knows what to do with- I've decided to be UNgrumpy especially in regards to Christmas. Cue the music! I have embraced the holiday good cheer with a vengence, amping myself up on Christmas tunes and decorating my mantel with ornament bedecked reindeer. I'm constructing a red reindeer harness for Remus complete with silver bells, and considered wearing ribbon in my hair to work just to aggravate the Grinches. It seems the cure for my sinking into winter blues is not to try and cheer me up, but rather to out miserable me.
So, bring on the mistletoe and garlands! Instead of annoying me, I now sing along to Christmas songs on my commute to and from work. I think the true reason for my mood swing may be that it is far easier to be truly thankful for Christ coming into this world when the world I'm surrounded by needs Him so badly!
That said, there are still a few Carols that necessitate changing the chanel instantly, favorites are songs like "Mary did you Know?" And other Christ focused classics (Silent Night, Hark, the Herald Angels Sing, Away in a Manger...) along with the fun "Baby, it's Cold Outside", "Santa Baby" and "Let it Snow". Songs I can't stand listening to include anything by Alvin and the Chipmunks, Jingle Bell Hop (that one is just mildly irksome) and my all time, least favorite carol- with lyrics that rival Rebecca Black's "Friday" for stupidest in existence-"Do you Hear what I Hear?"
Anyone else have favorite/least favorite carols? Any other people/work environments that you think may cornor the grumpy market?
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