Have you ever really listened to lyrics to Christmas songs?  I’m not talking about carols, I’m talking about those commercial Christmas songs, some of which have become classics, describing the euphoric feelings we’re supposed to be experiencing during the holiday season, from the simple to the sublime.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. How happy I would be if I could only whistle!

Let it snow, the fire is so delightful, I brought some corn for popping, the lights are turned way down low

Dreaming of a white Christmas, treetops glisten, children listen to sleigh bells in the snow, with every Christmas card I write.

Walking in a winter wonderland.  A beautiful sight.  In the meadow we can build a snowman. Later on we’ll conspire, as we dream by the fire.

There’ll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting and caroling out in the snow.

Let your heart be light, from now on our troubles will be out of sight, from now on our troubles will be miles away.

The lyrics go on and on.  From these descriptions you would think people would have permanent smiles pasted on their faces, feet barely touching the ground as they float on a cloud this holiday season.  Perhaps these lyrics describe how we WISH the season would be and not how it is.  I mean, when was the last time you walked with your family outside on a snowy evening, made snowmen together, sat around a cozy fireplace, gathered with friends just to be together to sing and roast marshmallows?

Instead what I see is stress.  Stress written on so many faces, young and old, anger and impatience, tears and frustration.  In trying to create the perfect Christmas, we’ve forgotten what Christmas is really all about.  We’re trying to make time to perfectly decorate our homes, buy the perfect gifts, host the best parties and still keep up with our jobs, our kids’ school and sports schedules and that endless music program schedule for your kids, your grandkids and perhaps, if you’re like me and my colleagues, for all of your school kids.  And seriously, when was the last time you “wrote” a Christmas card?

Everyone is dropping like flies with all kinds of stomach bugs and flu, teachers are hanging on by a thread with students losing their minds from lack of sleep, testing (I’m not kidding) AND a full moon.  It’s a real thing, you know.  “We can do this” is the mantra passed from teacher to teacher in the hallways, with a tenuous smile and a heavy sigh.  We don’t allow time to enjoy the season with our students, there are too many assessments to give before break and we must stay on schedule!

Reality and unrealistic expectations are clashing big time and we’re still trying to make it work.  I have news.  It’s not working – for anyone.  How hard would it be for us to just stop.  Just. Stop.  You know, quit and just breathe.  It CAN be done, we just choose not to.  I saw a meme today that said “What you allow is what will continue”.  THIS is truth.  If we want to live out something closer to the lyrics of these songs with our family and friends, we need to stop.  Will the world end if we do?  Probably not.  so what are we afraid of?

From now on will our troubles really be out of sight?  Well, maybe not totally out of sight, but I’m thinking that stopping to smell the roses – or build that snowman, just for FUN might just be the answer.  What would it take to make this a stress free time of year for you, your family and for my fellow teachers out there, your students?