At my local grocery store Monday morning this little older lady (bless her- she was adorable) was literally shaming herself and trying to justify to me (the disheveled mess just standing behind her) about why she’s using a premade pie this year instead of a home cooked.

Poor thing then went over all her ways she felt she was “cheating” when it comes to the holidays. Having someone else brine the turkey seemed like it was a cardinal sin. The woman retired last year and had done an expensive premade dinner package- she is STILL feeling guilty about it almost a year later.

This holiday stuff creates an insane amount of stress on women that is just not spoken about nearly enough. The holidays are sold as a time of magic, and as a kid for most people they are just that.

As a mom the holidays can be quite shitty and I don’t think people are really being honest (in any form about holidays)

1. It’s capitalism and marketing. The holiday itself when you go back to the historical roots we really shouldn’t be giving thanks for the British colonizers murdering a massive amount of innocent Native Americans in such a horrible way.
2. The amount of food waste. Americans over eat like it’s our fucking job. We throw away so many left overs and create so much waste around the holidays, all while there’s people sleeping outside.
3. The traveling. Driving is awful on a daily basis let alone long distance on a holiday when 8 out of 10 drivers on the road are drunk out of their minds. Have you done 3 hours of driving with 2 small kids in the backseat? It’s sheer fucking hell and not very jolly.
4. Forced interactions. I’m not thinking everyone’s got a Brady bunch sitcom style type of family but the biggest complaint I hear around the holidays is people annoyed with having to do the forced interactions with in-laws, their weird uncle who’s taxidermy hobby makes them cringe, the drunk aunt…. Every family’s got something.

Why can’t we get together with family at random times just because? Why does it need to be a holiday and immense amount of pressure? Order a fucking pizza and hang out with your family on a random Tuesday night. Stop putting pressure on elderly women to cook giant feasts.

I’m aware it’s a negative take to the holidays but seeing the way women are stressed out over this holiday is absolutely heartbreaking and makes me grateful we don’t participate in the same way most people do.

If you’re celebrating tomorrow, thank the person who did all the cooking and offer to wash some freaking dishes✌🏻