Today is November 3rd, and for the first time this season, I stumbled upon a message on Facebook that sent sirens screaming in my head and hives appearing on my skin.

“I can’t make it to this event, but maybe we can get together after the holiday rush”….

Ummmm. ‘Scuse me? The “holiday rush”? You mean, let’s try to see each other in over two months?

Maybe it is the old fashioned, Cary Grant/JimmyStewart-lover-1950’s-Idealist in me that begs for a slow down. You know, the timeless, classic, black and white kind of slow down. One of those.
The kind that beckons your nearest and dearest around you for a hearty glass of eggnog or big red wine and a few hours to sit and muse about the little things.

But we don’t get those hours because they are packed with work, meetings, errands, playdates, appointments, and several hours worth of trolling on Facebook and double tapping insta photos. Or, creating an endless stream of Pins that make your real life pale in comparison.

I want my life to be envious of my Pinterest collection.

I can’t sit through a page of a good book anymore without losing my thoughts to deadlines and due dates, lesson plans and blog posts. I have forgotten birthdays and anniversaries because I failed to jump on Facebook and be reminded. And damn you if you are one of those that keep it private, because honestly, I’ll never know.

I’m sorry that on November 3rd the “holiday rush” has us fretting about scheduling Christmas parties and ordering cards in mass quantities. I’m sorry for hounding families for Christmas lists because I need to have my shopping done by Thanksgiving so I can “enjoy the holiday season”.

I’m sorry because it took seeing a MESSAGE ON FACEBOOK for me to stop, shake my head, and then click over to a BLOG POST to beg the world to slow down and unplug for a second. I’m such a hypocrite.

But do as I say, not as I do, and heed my small words. Don’t succumb to the holiday rush this season. Please don’t. Live in the moment, fill your evenings with friends and loved ones and don’t push off catching up because of a so-called holiday rush that is looming several weeks prior to any real holiday.

Go call someone. Or better yet, meet them in person and turn off the damn phone. And if you think I’m crazy, maybe I am, but it’s nothing that a bowl of guacamole can’t fix.

Cheers to enjoying every moment of this holiday season and to never, ever, feeling “rushed”.