Shaking the Post Holiday Blues

December 26th has to be one of the worst days of the year for me. Actually, I don't really like the week following Christmas at all. It makes me so sad that for weeks, we are building up to the excitement of a few days and then they are just over in a flash. No more happy movies. No more jolly music. The stores are filled with leftover Christmas themed merchandise that just looks disheveled and sad. Relatives go home. The kitchen is slowly picked over, with the only remnants of the holiday being the leftover green bean casserole that is shoved to the back of the fridge because it just doesn't taste the same when microwaved. I feel like the holiday air has just been sucked out of the universe and life goes back to normal.

To shake off these post holiday blues, I kept the few first days after Christmas busy so I would forget that we weren't in the holiday season anymore. So, while I don't have a Christmas recap for you, I do have a weekend one. Although, I will say that this Christmas was better than the ones in the past few years...filled with lots of good family time and good food. 

On Friday, John and I went skiing to a small mountain about an hour away from us with John's brother and sister-in-law. While we were worried about the conditions, as it had been warm/raining the few days before, the morning skiing was fine. It had been about four years since the last time I had gone skiing and even though I had skied a ton when I was younger, I was worried I would get to the top of the mountain and not be able to get back down. My first run of the day caused me to sweat through my first layer of clothing (not from warmth, but from nerves), but it only took me a few runs to get a good groove going for the day. 

I fell in love with skiing all over again. I love the rhythm that my body falls into when making its way down the mountain and how my mind is working to stay upright in my skis, but also feels completely empty and serene at the same time. Even when my legs were burning on our last run of the day, I felt refreshed and less like the Grinch who hated the post-Christmastime. 

I was especially excited for Saturday, as it was the first of the dates that John had planned for my Christmas presents. He got us tickets to see one of my favorite bands perform at the House of Blues in Boston. It was the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and I have been waiting to see them since I was in middle school. For those of you unfamiliar, they are a ska group, meaning they have typical rock band instruments (guitar/bass/drums) with some brass instruments thrown in (trumpets, trombones, saxophones). 

I could hardly sit still through the car ride, dinner, and opening acts, and when they finally took the stage, I was surprised by the tears that came to my eyes. For a split second, I had the ignorant thought that not many people cry at rock concerts, but then I remembered that girls sobbed over seeing The Beatles and Elvis... Once I was past my tears, I sang my favorite songs they played and couldn't take my eyes off the stage the whole night. I was in awe of how amazing they were! 

This is my favorite song by them, called "Where'd you go?"...Quality isn't great, but I wanted to include of snippet of their music!

On Sunday, I attempted to catch up on sleep as we didn't get back from the concert until after midnight, but my cats didn't think I should sleep in and what they say is the rule. Does anyone else have this problem of their cats running their house? 

I hope you all had an amazing holiday, and have a fun (and safe!) New Year's Eve!