P.C.S.D.

Well, here we are once again - the day after Christmas.
It comes every year, and every year I deal with the same thing: Post Christmas Stress Disorder (PCSD.)
Holiday aftermath always leaves me somewhat lost - robbed of the unique and jolly sense of purpose I've developed over the past few months. I spend so much time looking forward to Christmas and getting in the holiday spirit, and every year I am struck with major week-after ennui. 

The last few days have been grand - I've eaten twice my body weight in chocolate, carbs and cheese, and have drunk enough champagne to make Hemingway blush. (well, maybe not quite that much...) 
I have all sorts of rad new stuff to play with (Everything from killer Moccasin boots to a '90s Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper - you're jealous, I know.), and yet I'm still in the midst of the Post-Christmas Blues!

I'm not quite sure what does it - the barrenness under the Christmas tree, the switch back to  focusing on everyday life, or the staring into the bottom of an empty wine glass... but whatever it is, something kicks in. Most likely it's the anxiety of the new year that starts sinking in - new plans, new adventures, new resolutions. (And I have a lot of resolutions this year...)

You basically go from feeling like this:

To feeling like this:

I feel like this after birthdays and vacations too. - The holidays seem to make us examine everything that's going on in our life, and even with all the fun and merriment it can be stressful and maddening sometimes. We exude so much energy with thinking and planning and preparations and family events, and then it all washes away in one day and can leave you feeling kinda like a limp doll.

However - when you're feeling lost, I've discovered there is only one thing to do to remedy it: Spend literally 12 hours straight drinking and eating pizza with your best friend. 
That's what I did today and I feel one hundred times better. 

I'm SO excited for the upcoming year, and all the adventures I'm embarking on, and this year I'm trying to embrace that sense of relief that also comes with Christmas being over. No more stress of rushing out to the mail box to see if a package came, no trying to compensate for my lack of culinary skills, no more vacuuming up pine needles everywhere. It's time enjoy presents and to go shopping at all the post-holiday sales! 
It's time to make resolutions - both fun and disciplined.
It's time to make bold choices and finish off the leftover peppermint schnapps! 

Like Dickens said, I just need to remember to keep the holiday spirit in my heart all year long. 
That way I won't feel such a crash when Christmas ends. 
Right?