Home » alamb's blog
blogger profileblogger profile
Alamb
Author/Television Reporter
Amanda Lamb is a professional television journalist and author. She covers murder trials by day and reads Dora the Explorer to her children at night. Somewhere in between all of that she writes about those parenting moments that catch each us off-guard in a crazy, chaotic, and wonderful way. Aman...
blog entryblog entry

Holi-Daze

Amanda Lamb

Friday, November, 2, 2007

Ladies it has officially begun- the long stream of holidays that we are responsible for managing in our households.

Halloween is the kickoff and it goes on from there.  You know what I’m talking about.  First you buy or make the costumes, attend or host multiple parties, and then drag yourself up and down long driveways in the dark as your kids gather candy they don’t need.  My dinner on Halloween consisted of a Butterfinger, a Reese’s Cup and four Tootsie Rolls.  My costume?  I went as a working mother rushing home from the office in time to go trick-or-treating.  My older daughter said before I left for work that morning:  “Mommy, I know you’re not going to make it.  Just call us- we’ll have the cell phone and let you know where we are.”

Okay, so one down and several more to go.  Next up, Thanksgiving.  I don’t cook so this holiday strikes the fear of God in me.  I usually work in order to get out of this all-American ritual.  This year however I’m off, so I did the only sensible thing I could think of.   I made reservations.

Don’t even get me started on Christmas.  The cards, the gifts, the decorating.  I’ve already got a headache just thinking about it and it’s not even 9:30 in the morning yet.  New Year’s is really a throwaway for parents of young children unless you enjoy getting up and dealing with kids at 6:00 in the morning with a killer hangover.  Then we get a break until February when we have to address a million little Valentines.

It’s here ladies.  Let the games begin.

  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Magnoliacom
  • Newsvine
  • Furl
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Yahoo
  • Technorati
  • Icerocket

Kristin
Kristin
Holiday Hullabaloo
Posted Fri, 11/02/2007 - 14:04
Don't forget the steady stream of class solicitations for sweet treats, holiday napkins, cutlery and craft ideas! The next two months of my calendar are filled with classroom celebrations, school plays, decorating days, and crafting creativity. I am forty two and doing all of this for the third time--what was I thinking?! Please forgive all of the the alliteration--I'll blame it on a pre-holiday hangover.
viewpoint
viewpoint
I don't get it.
Posted Fri, 11/02/2007 - 21:20
It sounds to me like you dread every part of the holidays. Why have kids if you hate every ritual involved in making it special for them? I think it's sad that your kids expect you to be late for Halloween, and it must be clear to them on some level you dread these events. A pretty depressing way to grow up if you ask me. Maybe your work/home balance is a little off. Some day you'll be out of requests for Halloween costumes and wish you dreaded them a little less.
nikki
nikki
I wish women weren't so hard
Posted Sat, 11/03/2007 - 16:35
I wish women weren't so hard on each other, but unfortunately that's one thing that feminism has failed to eliminate. Everyone's situation is different and being judgmental just turns off dialogue. ~nikki
viewpoint
viewpoint
so hard
Posted Sat, 11/03/2007 - 21:12
It's one thing to be open minded and sympathetic towards fellow women, but to have time to blog about not having enough time to do family stuff seems a little disingenuous. I think this "gotta do it all and be semi-resentful about it" attitude as expressed in this blog is typical of the ugly pitfalls of feminism... you CAN have your cake AND eat it too, but don't complain when your butt is too fat!
OhCecileya
OhCecileya
Sounds about right to me!
Posted Tue, 12/11/2007 - 14:44
As a single mom, working full-time and responsible for every aspect of household management, I totally get this entry, and appreciate the honestly in it! Add to the lunatic holiday schedule no less than 8 birthdays in my family - starting Oct. 25 and ending Feb. 20 - and it's a schedule none but the most severely A-type personality can manage. Reservations for dinner? Sounds like the best of all worlds!