It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Every %@*&-ing where I go. The store windows, the hideous wreaths on the bumpers of SUVs, the Holiday sweaters, the music (please, God, make it stop). I'm already up to my turtleneck in Holiday Crazy and we're two weeks away from the big day.
It's a tough, depressing time of year for a lot of people. The days are short, the nights are cold, and the pressure of putting forth good cheer is enough to drive anyone slightly mad. Alright, it's enough to drive me mad. I promise not to speak for anyone else.
I should just count my blessings and remember all of those things I said a was grateful for over the last holiday.
One of the things for which I am currently grateful is the fact that I do not live in Sweden. It's a gorgeous country alright, with gorgeous people and whatnots, but really. If it's cold here, it's colder there. And the nights? Long. Really, depressingly long. I sometimes wonder how they get through the winter in one piece.
Apart from the medicinal use of sunlamps, one major way the Swedes cope with the winter blues is alcohol. And lots of it. Of course, this is how a lot of people cope with the Holiday season. It's a double-edged sword, really, (do I need to mention that alcohol is a depressant?) so you may want to proceed with caution. May.