"Individually,
I love you all with affection unspeakable, but, collectively, I look
upon you with
a disgust that amounts to absolute detestation."
Fredrick
the Accidental Apprentice Pirate
Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan
Halloween,
Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years – they are the source of many
precious and mortifying stories. I treasure each of these holidays.
Nevertheless, Fredrick sums up my feeling well. I detest the U.S.A.'s 'Holiday
Season.'
Despite events like Write a Novel in a Month, November through January is a slump time for me. It's very frustrating.
As
an introvert, I need my quite and routine to recharge my social
batteries. The Holidays Season is loud, pushy, and full of emotional
whiplash. Jump scares, bad movies, and sugar highs. Celebrate the first
colonists not starving to death, then Black Friday frenzy. Spend money for Christmas, 'reclaim' Christmas
for Christ, feel generous, feel happy to have relatives invade your
house...
...then
comes New Years, or as my family calls it Amateur Drunk night. I
haven't got the brain space to make resolutions because I'm gathering
supplies to last until the roads are safe. Heaven help us all if
there's bad weather. (Oklahoma ices – thankfully no snowadoes.)
This year, I filled several pages of a notebook with
reminders, quotes, and story scribbles. However, Tales of Mundus
netted nothing more than a few paragraphs. (Yes, I know, REAL authors
can write 1,000 words per day on a lever action typewriter while
their fingers bleed. )
It
many be laziness or creative excuse making, but I simply don't do
well in winter. My creative seems solar powered. When the sun goes
down, I want to go to bed – never-mind it's only 7pm. Come New
Years, I'm drained from running in 'owl mode.' Add the Holiday
Season’s social marathon, and it's no wonder I always catch colds
or have winter allergies turn nasty.
Even
now the state of my nose and throat is not fit for description. I'm
not 'ladylike' when I sneeze. Between the noise and jerking up my arm
up to stop the spray, it's more like a karate demo than a cute kitten webclip. I've been fighting this bug since January 1st.
Thank
goodness I don't have anymore company for a few days. Now I can
reboot my sleep cycle, sort out my notes and get some writing done
before Valentine's Day hits.
