Why I Love and Hate the Holidays
I’ve got to be honest. The holidays are around the corner and I’m kind of excited! As an IBS sufferer, I tend to have a love/hate relationship with the holidays. I guess I’m currently going through the “love” phase because I cannot stop feeling the holiday spirit when I think about spending time with my beautiful family on Thanksgiving and Christmas. On the other hand, there’s also a part of me that knows there’s a good chance that I might not be able to show up to the holiday festivities depending on how my IBS wants to behave. That’s the part about the holiday season that I hate because my IBS is so unpredictable. In this article, I’m going to discuss what I love about the upcoming holidays, but also what I hate about the holiday season as an IBS sufferer.
Food and holiday spirit
Thanksgiving is a tricky holiday to get excited about sometimes because it mainly revolves around food, and GREAT food at that! My favorite dish is Mac and Cheese, and unfortunately, it’s the main dish I can’t have much of or else I’ll be claiming the porcelain throne for the rest of the night. Nonetheless, the food is my favorite part about Thanksgiving because my family and I decide to have an annual cook-off to see who makes the best dish. Trigger foods or not, I’m going to try (at least a little of) whatever I lay my eyes on because my family really puts their “T.L.C.” (tender, love, and care) into their creations. However, as I mentioned before, my Thanksgiving experience all depends on my IBS during that time. If the festivities can be done at my house, then that will make things easier because I’ll be in the comfort of my own home. But if the festivities are elsewhere, and not close to home, my anxiety can get the best of me, therefore making it hard to step foot outside of my house. Nevertheless, every year I try my best to make it to my family’s event, and try not let that stop my holiday spirit from shining.
Christmas is almost just as tricky as Thanksgiving because food is also an integral part of the holiday. However, for this celebration we don’t focus on competing with one another, so it’s safe to say that the food won’t be as exciting to eat as it would be on Thanksgiving. What I truly love about Christmas is the holiday-spirit-build-up. For instance, the Christmas lights on houses, putting up the Christmas tree, the snow sticking to the ground and leaves of trees, and last but not least – the Christmas movies. Being an 80’s baby, my favorite movies are Home Alone 1 and Home Alone 2. Watching these movies at ANY time of the year brings me back to my childhood memories and just automatically flips the switch for me, and I’m easily right into the Christmas spirit. Watching Kevin McCallister trick those robbers with his ingenuity is always hilarious and entertaining to me.
The holiday fight
The only thing that can possibly ruin the holiday season is, of course, my IBS. It could keep me from attending a family function or it could make me so weak that I would have not enough energy to even cook my famous Thanksgiving dish, for example. This time of year can be quite a challenge, but it can also be filled with lots of love and happiness if you’re willing to fight through the pain. I know this time I’m going to put up a bigger fight because I’m tired of missing out on spending valuable time with my loved ones. I plan to have a great time, and I wish the same for all of you. Happy Holidays!
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