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Holiday Guts

We are all doing just fine

By Ashley AndersenPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Our honeymoon

Wow. 2020. Am I right? At least we’ve made it this far?? Nobody, not our scientists, not our president, not our astrologists or the crystal lady at the bookstore down the street could have predicted any of the unique madness we endured this year. So how could we possibly send out a holiday card that captures all of the ups and downs (okay, mostly downs) this year gave us, while still trying to seem cheery and somewhat hopeful for the next year???

My husband and I got married this year in a small outdoor ceremony in my hometown back in Nebraska. We had a Grateful Dead cover band and soft serve ice cream and only our closest friends and family in attendance, completely changing our plans and uprooting our previous wedding fantasies. But it turns out, it was better than we could have ever imagined and exactly what we needed. We have no idea if we did it “right” by anyone’s standards, but by our standards - it was perfect. This year is so so soooo far from anything remotely even close to glamorous so what if we try to let go of any illusions of how we think things should be and just hold tight to the only thing we can really trust - our own guts.

The inspiration for our holiday card comes from the unprecedented anxiety in all of us this year constantly wondering what the hell we are doing, and more importantly- if we are doing it right. The hardest part of this year has definitely been worrying about who I may offend or not offend in any choice I have made this year. Decision fatigue is a real thing people and there is no way I could have ever anticipated how much anxiety just walking down my neighborhood street would cause me.

“Oh shoot here comes a guy and his dog. Do I cross the street or are they going to? Maybe they don’t expect me to cross? Or no maybe they ARE expecting me to cross? Okay nevermind I’ll just turn around and go back home.”

“I should be wearing a mask to this, right? Or wait, is it offensive if I do? I don’t want them to think that I think they’re dirty or something... but also, they might be dirty.”

“Haha oh yeah that sounds so fun but um, how many people are going? Have they been tested? (Is that rude to ask??)”

“Can we go to that little pizza place down the street with outdoor seating for dinner tonight? That’s safe, right? I found a hair in my spaghetti once, but you can’t get Covid from that, right??”

In a year that has constantly bombarded us with questions that we never thought we would have to ask ourselves (to face shield or not to face shield?), it’s good to be able to laugh at ourselves because the truth is - nobody knows what the heck they are doing. Nobody knows the exact amount of times you should be washing your hands during a day, or how much toilet paper you should be buying, or if BBQ parties are okay as long as everybody pees outside. We are all just doing the best we can, and I promise, that is enough.

So this holiday season, do whatever you need to do and please please try not to worry if it’s up to code for anybody else but your own self.

So here is our 2020 holiday card - from mine to yours - poking fun at the confusing and anxious imperfections that came with this wild year. If nothing else, it will always be a memorable one.

Jingle bells, can you still smell? Cause if not, you might have covid...

Happy Holidays

Love, Greg and Ashley

humanity
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About the Creator

Ashley Andersen

Just moving through it.

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