I've had some really interesting feedback to my last two postings, including a few very thought-provoking emails. Don't worry, I'm not actually feeling as cynical as my post may have sounded. Or maybe I am, but it doesn't really have anything to do with being an overworked, overwrought mother. Those are just observations that I've made over the last couple of weeks and something I can empathize with.
I think my malaise has more to do with a post-move dip than anything else. We seem to be mixing too many December holidays and I'm having a hard time figuring out what traditions our family should follow.
M's family has always celebrated Sinterklaas and mine has, of course, its own American Christmas traditions. But at the moment we're also having to pull in elements from German Weinacht for the school and kindergarten.
I feel obliged to pass that magical holiday feeling on to my kids but am at a loss as to how I should balance these three holidays. Especially since I don't personally feel very drawn to any one of them... This makes me feel very guilty.
Every now and then I forget that we're still in transition. I'm sure that next year more of the pieces will have fallen into place. We'll hopefully feel a bit more comfortable in our own skins and then the picture will be clearer.
For now, though we're celebrating in a rather haphazard way, and I guess I should try to make the best of it... Any tips for how your family ends up balancing different cultural traditions?
1 comment:
Sounds like you've struck the perfect balance, honestly. I can't think of anything you could do that you aren't or anything you're doing that you ought not be. I think Langdon had a good reminder - that despite the stress of all this, S & B probably only have warm and happy thoughts/memories of the holidays. So in the big picture, maybe the only thing to be done really is just deep breaths.
L
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