[Dutch Lock Down Day Two Hundred Fifty Three]
Black Friday is an informal name for the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. The day after Thanksgiving has been regarded as the beginning of the United States Christmas shopping season since 1952.
And, yeah, it’s even here in the Netherlands.
But first the news:
- Over a half-million known coronavirus infections as 4,500 more test positive
- Leiden study to infect young adults with Covid to gain insight into immune response
- Third of Dutch exercise less since pandemic hit
Of course, because of online shopping and, well, marketing, the single sales day has become a week or more.
Also?
Here in the Netherlands, it’s kind of considered Not Cool to put up your Xmas tree before SinterKlaas but in America, the tree goes up today (or yesterday if you used it as an activity to entertain the family before / after Thanksgiving foodness).
And since I’ve already seen a few pictures of friends / family putting up their trees, I totally want to go shopping this weekend for The Tree.
I do NOT do well on holidays.
I’d rather have a normal work day. I need my schedules and normalcy. Come to think on it, I don’t do well on the weekends, either.
I just don’t know what to do with myself.
But on holidays there are EXPECTATIONS. You’re expected to smile. And host. And prepare. And Take Care Of All The Details. And Dress Nicely.
And BRUSH YOUR TEETH. And get out of bed. And put on pants. And wear clean clothes. And put on deodorant. And brush your hair. And wear the bow. And put on make-up.
And smile nice. And smell nice. And look nice. And act nice. And STOP BITING YOUR SISTER, NO, THAT’S NOT OKAY. “You say SORRY to your sister!” “No.” “Do you want a time out?” “Sorry, Girl Twin.”
And take pictures. And post online. And don’t do work. And write a blog post. And bake a chocolate cake. And a pumpkin pie. And a pecan pie. And some cookies, cause fuck it. And cook a turkey. And make sweet potatoes. And mashed potatoes. And cranberry sauce. And stuffing, but call it dressing, but don’t put it on your salad.
And eat too much.
And give the perfect present. And be thankful for what you get. And clean up after. And don’t fall apart. And no crying. And no yelling. And no drama. And NO BITING YOUR BROTHER, NO, THAT’S NOT OKAY. “Tell your brother you’re sorry!” “No.” “Do you want a time out?” “Sorry, Boy Twin.”
While I managed to work and focus and do okay yesterday, I already feel the pressures of SinterKlaas and Christmas mounting along with all the inherent expectations and, well, I’m already Not Doing Well, so excuse me, please, while I hide a bit more and sleep a bit more and practice radical compassion along with strict parenting because it’s really not okay to bite, people, why is that so hard.