People at all ages are
living very busy lives these days. It may not be that we do more things than
before; it’s just that life happens faster and faster. Can’t explain the
physics of that, but I sure feel it. And so, when given the opportunity (or the
obligation) to stop everything for a Christmas vacation with your family — some
people begin to go a little stir crazy.
Sofie
Mehrotra wrote: yes! i do get bored over the holidays! They’re awesome and all, but
YES!
Rebecca
Xavier wrote: when I get bored I usually try and use my time to make
banners/pictures for TheHopeLine.com
(Thanks
Rebecca!)
Katie
Wilick wrote: Do I get
bored over the
holidays? I want to kill
my self over that time!!
(Don’t
do it Katie. Life will be back to normal in a few days.)
Some people’s trauma during
the holidays has to do with missing their every-day friends.
Ashley R
James wrote: i will be sitting down or lying in bed in tears because i want to be
with my best friend
(Wow! You
must have a pretty awesome friend.)
Lots of people wrote that they
spend a lot of their Christmas vacation on Facebook or texting friends.
So, let’s see if I’ve imagined
a typical picture of the Christmas holiday. Visiting relatives who are either a
lot older than you or cousins you don’t know very well, missing your friends,
getting bored, and killing time by tweeting, texting, or checking in with FB
contacts.
How closely does that
describe your experience?
That might be exactly what
you want to do, and if so, I guess you won’t be bored. But if you’re looking
for something different, here are a few ideas:
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But think about doing this: Just post a message saying, “Going offline for awhile,” and then do something totally outside your normal life.
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1. Go offline for a while. I know it’s hard to live a normal life knowing that there might be a
text msg waiting. But think about doing this: Just post a message saying,
“Going offline for awhile,” and then do something totally outside your normal
life. Everyone will wonder what in the world you are up to (suspense rises with
time, and they eventually begin tweeting each other about what you are doing).
Not only will you have something interesting (or outrageous) to talk about when
you reappear, you might even be considered cool for doing this. Besides, being
hopelessly devoted to your cell phone while visiting relatives can be a little
offensive. They don’t get it, and so they take it personally.
If you shut down your cell
phone, the boredom factor might escalate quickly. So, you’ve got to find
something to do fast. Whether or not
you go off-line, here are some ideas about non-typical things to do.
2. Random Acts of Anything: I know a guy who systematically forces randomness into his life. He
and his wife go to the movie theater on the first Thursday for each month and
buy tickets to the very next show, no matter what it is. Every time he goes on
a business trip, he closes his eyes and picks one magazine off the newsstand
for every hour of flight time. There are some oddities about this guy, but his
is never
bored or boring.
Uncharacteristic Entertainment: You
can’t beat a good book. Tired of homework or don’t like to read? Check out an
audiobook. You can rent audiobooks at Cracker Barrel, check them out of the
library, or download from iTunes. And hey, this could not only be fun, but you
might be able to use it for a book report later on. Nothing like reading /
listening to a thriller to pass the time.
Kendall
Burroughs-ray wrote: well i just read books, write stories, or even sometimes listen to
music that makes me have so much fun on the holidays.
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Don’t like what older relatives are talking about? Don’t enjoy the conversation? Change the subject.
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3. Journal Like Crazy. Even though you may not think the story of your life will be a NY Times bestseller, you’ll be really
glad one day that you wrote things down. Though you don’t realize it now,
you’ll be surprised how many great experiences you’ll forget. So, constructing
a 2010 year-in-review is a worthwhile thing to do.
4. De-junk: The holidays are a great time to go through your stuff and get rid the
junk. Simplifying and downsizing always make me feel better.
5. Change the Conversation: Don’t like what older relatives are talking about? Don’t enjoy the
conversation? Change the subject. Get Uncle Fred alone and ask, “What was the
most exciting thing you’ve ever done? What’s the best decision and the biggest
mistake you’ve ever made? If you were 18 and had your life to live over again,
what would you do?
I can imagine a teenage
girl wanting to get away by herself during the holidays. When mom objects, the
previously interviewed and now allied Uncle Fred says, “Oh, let her go. She’s
probably got more interesting things to do.”
The point is that if you
are crafty enough, you can exchange one hour of meaningful conversation with
Uncle Fred for a whole afternoon of hanging out with the old folks.
Next Week: Do you have any
suggestions about how to give gifts that matter?
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