To answer my own question, for Blaine and me, it was a busy holiday season this year. We went to my grandmother’s house with my aunt and cousins, my parents and my sister on Christmas Eve; on Christmas Day Blaine and I went to my parents to open gifts with my sister and we had dinner with them; on Boxing Day we had a gathering with Blaine’s family; on the 27th we had a gift exchange with my dads family; on the 28th we got together with my moms family.
It certainly hasn’t been boring.
We had a wonderful holiday season this year, especially since we were able to see family we haven’t been able to for a while thanks to COVID.
I was chatting with a cousin and she raised an excellent point; we were discussing our plans for Christmas, and she also had a busy few days mapped out. She said it has felt like a lot, to which I agreed, and she said that it probably feels significantly busy because we have had somewhat slower holiday seasons the last few years because of the pandemic.
I dunno if it makes me a simpleton, but I found this realization to be rather riveting. I hadn’t really given much thought to why this year seemed so much busier than others, but my cousin’s observation really put things into perspective for me.
I think the pandemic has slowed quite a few of us down both physically and mentally – call it COVID fatigue or whatever you like, but I think it’s a thing, and furthermore, I think it’s a contributing factor as to why this year’s Christmas celebrations seemed so busy. I really enjoyed it, and it reminded me to be grateful to be able to see my loved ones, and also to pause and think of those who don’t have the same privilege.
ontheedgeofeverything 
