If you haven’t adopted the celebration of Festivus in your home, I would consider it this holiday season. The Seinfeld-created holiday of airing your grievances with your loved ones has really moved the needle for our family in an effort to be more honest with each other, and live in a home full of joy…not resentment.
There is, of course, an inherent risk that the “celebration” turns into a tragic falling out. But, that’s a risk your family is going to have to man up to.
At family dinner one recent night, it was our time.
I sit down, patiently waiting for everyone to sit down with their meals. Then, I lay it on them. “Tonight, we are going to go around the table share all of the things that bother us about each other. Ben, you can begin.” As you can imagine, there was a great deal of resistance. Like, 5 long minutes of resistance.
But, I got Ben riled up enough that he burst open like a piñata. It was actually exciting; I sat impatiently waiting for him to get to me and what I do that irritates him.
“BODE, YOU NEED TO BE NICER TO YOUR SISTER! HARLEY LOVE, YOU NEED TO STOP WHINING SO MUCH! JONAH, YOU NEED TO OPEN UP AND SHARE MORE WITH US! HEATHER, YOU DOMINATE CONVERSATIONS! AND, KAT, YOU NEED TO TAKE THE RECYCLING OUT MORE OFTEN!”
And, there it was: The birth of Festivus in our home. The start of The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.
And, the birth of Katrin Davidsdottir taking the recycling out.