This holiday season, I abstain. Save for midnight mass (which is, oddly, a rebirthing experience for me, unlike any other) and a few obligatory gifts, I will treat this Christmas day as any other holiday (which is a day off of work). The rest of you can plummet through store aisles, run up your credit cards recklessly buying useless chachkies (sp?) (clutter no more!), make plans for a stressful family gathering (nap time), and wonder in your heart of hearts what all the fuss is really about (corporate America). Meanwhile, I will be in my pajamas. The true meaning of Christmas is one of rebirth and renewal. And that I can do without stressing out my finances and my emotions and adding four hundred more obligations to my life. Don't do it people! You're worth so much more! Give yourself the greatest Christmas gift and take a vacation from the insanity...I swear.

Just for today, I abstain from my addiction to holiday insanity.