Tis The Season Or Some Shit

As you might have guessed I am fairly anti-holiday. The stress, confronting family dysfunction over food, etc. It isn't really my cup of tea. I'd much rather hole up in my house safe from the weather, the neurosis & general calamity of the holiday season.
However, I am not completely cold hearted about it. Yesterday I had one of my warm fuzzy winter moments. There will at most be three of these so I have to relish them when they happen.
I went to the Barnes & Noble to pickup a birthday present for my mom. The weather in Wisconsin has just made that discernible shift from fall to winter. I can see my breath, the air is dry as a bone & all my cravings involve hearty meals and warm drinks. Like any good B&N patron I came in from the cold and made a beeline for the Starbucks counter. If there is one thing Starbucks does right it is the Gingerbread Latte. You can only get them this time of year, but it is so worth it. If you have never tried one run, don't walk to your local Starbucks & have one. It is literally like drinking holiday cheer. I roamed the bookstore steaming venti gingerbread latte in hand and for a brief moment didn't think about the usual 'What am I going to get so & so?' and 'How much wine will I have to consume to deal with the Catholic side of the family?'. Instead I just wander around soaking up the books & cheesy music. For almost two hours it felt like everything was going to be okay. I will find a way to give presents even though I'm broke. I will be happy to see the Catholics & eat the mysteriously yummy veggie casserole. All gifts will be wrapped to my exacting OCD standards.
Notably, I will probably have 15 posts that curse the holidays to their very core & damn all things Christmas straight to hell. I suck at the holidays. My stress level goes through the roof, I loathe everyone...the whole nine yards. But for now I'm going to indulge my few minutes of hope that everything will be great.