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grerp: the PERSONAL side of AAR Rachel
Ordinary Time
posted Sunday, 25 June 2006
Well, finally we are in Ordinary Time - the time of no big holidays, the time of green vestments and green everything else - green trees, green grass, green fields - the big yawning gap between the end of Eastertide/Pentecost and the beginning of Advent.
This is my favorite time of year.
It's not just because it's summer, though I LOVE summer. It's not just because it's warm and the flowers are blooming and the heat bill's finally manageable and the sun's out. Those are all good. But the main thing I love about Ordinary Time is that it's ordinary. The weeks stretch on unbroken by big celebrations and stressful planning. The readings at church aren't tied to a holiday so the homilies are a little more varied. Nothing surprising happens. It's all predictable.
Christmas stresses me out. That whole winter solstice time - it's the worst time of year for me. The darkness gets to me and I just want to hibernate. The last thing, the VERY LAST THING, I want to do is have to totally redecorate my house, write a truckload of happy family cards, and bake like a crazy woman. I do the bare minimum and feel guilty about it. But I'm just not up for the extravaganza and am irritated by the fact that it requires so much effort but lasts only a short time.
The rest of the holidays aren't as much work, but I'm just not the kind of person who wakes up and thinks, "Woo, it's Halloween - time to get out all of my orange and black decorations and bake themed cupcakes! Can't wait!!" God bless the people who are like this; they keep everything festive. But I'm just better off in the off season when nothing additional is expected and when my regular house decorative scheme is adequate. I know how little stress it takes to set the OCD off, so the best time for me is when everything is normal and when the schedule is being adhered to. In other words, Ordinary Time.
This is my favorite time of year.
It's not just because it's summer, though I LOVE summer. It's not just because it's warm and the flowers are blooming and the heat bill's finally manageable and the sun's out. Those are all good. But the main thing I love about Ordinary Time is that it's ordinary. The weeks stretch on unbroken by big celebrations and stressful planning. The readings at church aren't tied to a holiday so the homilies are a little more varied. Nothing surprising happens. It's all predictable.
Christmas stresses me out. That whole winter solstice time - it's the worst time of year for me. The darkness gets to me and I just want to hibernate. The last thing, the VERY LAST THING, I want to do is have to totally redecorate my house, write a truckload of happy family cards, and bake like a crazy woman. I do the bare minimum and feel guilty about it. But I'm just not up for the extravaganza and am irritated by the fact that it requires so much effort but lasts only a short time.
The rest of the holidays aren't as much work, but I'm just not the kind of person who wakes up and thinks, "Woo, it's Halloween - time to get out all of my orange and black decorations and bake themed cupcakes! Can't wait!!" God bless the people who are like this; they keep everything festive. But I'm just better off in the off season when nothing additional is expected and when my regular house decorative scheme is adequate. I know how little stress it takes to set the OCD off, so the best time for me is when everything is normal and when the schedule is being adhered to. In other words, Ordinary Time.
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