a new holiday tradition.

Photo by Shane Woodward I'm the first to admit that I'm a grinch. I don't get super excited about the holidays, maybe because it's overwhelming for me to have to do it three times over. As an introverted person, I don't like having to do things in groups more than I have to because it sucks the energy out of me. This year I was even less excited because I was sick completely through the holidays. But as Christmas comes and goes, there are things that I do enjoy. For example, spending time with my youngest brother and seeing how much funnier he gets every time I see him or eating breakfast at my grandparents' house on Christmas morning. Those are the memories that I keep the closest to myself. But now, the holidays are officially over.

Part of me being a grinch means that I don't help decorate. I don't help my mother put garland over the fireplace or place my favorite ornaments on the tree (though, I do have favorites, none of which made it onto the tree because I didn't help). Since we hosted Christmas Eve at our house this year, we had more decorations up than ever, meaning that it would take days for my mother to take everything down all by herself. And since she receives no help and never really asks for anything from us, I decided that I would cut into my very busy day of watching Netflix and reading to step in.

Although I had to ask her what box went with which ornaments each time, I still found it easy and enjoyable to help out. And with the two of us, we were able to get most of the work done in just a few short hours. We had two trees bare of decoration quickly, garland taken down off three different surfaces, glitter vacuumed off couches, and fake presents stuffed with ornaments to put into storage once again. Despite not having Christmas music playing, instead listening to old episodes of Boy Meets World where we laughed at how after-school-special the story lines were, we still managed to have a good time. So while I might be a grinch when it comes to the holidays, maybe I finally found a tradition that doesn't make me roll my eyes or fill with anxiety. The Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day. Well, at least a half a size.