advertisement
Reply
Thread Tools Display Modes
LiteraryLark
Crowned "The Good Witch"
 
LiteraryLark's Avatar
LiteraryLark is healing
 
Member Since: Jun 2009
Location: Wonderland
Posts: 11,535 (SuperPoster!)
10 yr Member
1,318 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Unhappy Dec 27, 2018 at 02:36 AM
  #1
It's a big holiday let down...my emotions have been riding a roller coaster this month and I've been a train wreck this week...SI'd twice this week...I spent a good chunk of my Christmas money to buy my brother "better" Christmas presents...and I've decided for my parents, one present next year...I can't handle another Christmas like this!!!

LiteraryLark is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
SlumberKitty

advertisement
sarahsweets
Threadtastic Postaholic
 
sarahsweets's Avatar
sarahsweets has no updates.
 
Member Since: Dec 2018
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 6,006 (SuperPoster!)
5 yr Member
192 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 03:47 AM
  #2
I feel this way after vacations sometimes.
sarahsweets is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Thanks for this!
LiteraryLark
LiteraryLark
Crowned "The Good Witch"
 
LiteraryLark's Avatar
LiteraryLark is healing
 
Member Since: Jun 2009
Location: Wonderland
Posts: 11,535 (SuperPoster!)
10 yr Member
1,318 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 04:37 AM
  #3
Throughout the past two days my mood swings have been minute by minute...I'm slowly calming down after throwing up from being so upset and stressed out. My parents are asleep but I spent a few minutes stomping around the house....I'm just so angry...

I tend to have tunnel vision...aka...being so focused on one thing (usually negative) that I can't force myself to think about anything else. I feel like a failure, but my parents thought their Christmas was wonderful. I also feel it has nothing to do with what I got them. This whole gift giving has destroyed my mental health.

The DVDs are the items stuck in the tunnel vision. I screwed up trying to explain why I bought them and how cool they were, but I nearly had an anxiety attack trying to set them up to be excited about it and failed. I tried so hard to get movies they really like with a TON of classics from the 40s-60s and even though it was a great deal (I spent $80 for roughly 25-30 movies) it was a huge flop. My dad couldn't even read through the titles of just a small stack of the classics and once he said "and this one is called something or other"...it just really hurt my feelings. Later in the unwrapping I tried to explain what I had wanted to explain, that I wanted Dad to do his usual review search on a DVD player and that they weren't too expensive and my mom said "we can just watch them on our laptop". It was just a big flop and it made me feel really disappointed...and it was the majority of my gifts.

I want to look at the positive but it's hard...My mom *was* over the moon about the beautiful, heavy quilt I won for her. She was so tickled about it and said she had always wanted one but quality quilts were too expensive for her to buy and she decided to use it on her bed rather than keeping it a "needful thing" as in a tapestry. My dad was very excited about the Animal House book I got him, he said he had no idea that there was a book that the movie was based on, and I told him it was a true account of the man who lived in Animal House. He also loved the Alton Brown and especially the Jamie Oliver cookbooks I got for him and Mom, he got really excited about those and was waving those around. My mom was excitedly curious about a big Jonathan Strange book I got her. I read the cover and it seemed right up her alley. She also liked the Bridget Jones series I got her. She also got very excited about the two Christmas mugs I got her in a set, she's a sucker for holiday mugs. But she just went gaga over the quilt and she said she would have never guessed it. She assumed it was something I had made with Papa. I had all three of us open it up to see the design...it is a three-layer queen-size quilt and very beautiful...I won it in a $1 raffle. My ticket was 1 in 5000, and she commented how much she loves how lucky I am that I win cool stuff and I got to tell the story of meeting with the quilters. That's always my favorite part of Christmas, having a cool story to tell.

What bums me out is I felt I gave a crappy present to my brother. I could only give him a very small box of candy, and the intention was to find something more but I just didn't have the funds for it (after the move and without a job I was very limited with what I had to spare and presents for my parents were done months early while I was still working) and after seeing the terrific, well thought-of gifts he got me, all I could think about these past two days was "I have to make it up to him".

I sent a him a text saying that the candy was meant to bring back memories of the candy we ate when we were little and it was all I could afford at the time, but now after a few paychecks I saved up some money to send him some gifts that I thought he'd really enjoy and also some things he can enjoy with his Marine buddies. I told him "Technically, it's still the 12 days of Christmas, so gift giving is still in full swing!" I didn't mention that "saved money" was really my Christmas money. That bothers me a lot, but also only to an extent. It's a bummer I have to use my Christmas money to buy more Christmas presents, but at the same time, my brother means the world to me and I love buying gifts for my loved ones, and I had enough money to buy my brother really awesome Christmas presents, some "me-gifts", a hair cut, and (hopefully) enough money to treat my two-best friends to a meal or two when they come up.

I got him a professional harmonica (he loved his cheapie one), a 300-piece professional poker set and a game of Yahtzee that I can picture him and his Marine buddies playing (and I can even hear him cry out “Yahtzee!”) a big book of mad libs, and a Fandango gift card since he loves going to the movies. I’m very pleased with what I got him and I think he will love it!

My emotions have just been off the chart, it's all over the place. I think for next year I will pick out just pick out one or two presents for my friends and loved ones, quality over quantity. This whole 2nd post was me trying to calm myself down...it definitely helped.

I could use some hugs...
LiteraryLark is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
MickeyCheeky, Open Eyes, SlumberKitty, unaluna
sarahsweets
Threadtastic Postaholic
 
sarahsweets's Avatar
sarahsweets has no updates.
 
Member Since: Dec 2018
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 6,006 (SuperPoster!)
5 yr Member
192 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 05:07 AM
  #4
It sounds like you went above and beyond for your family. They are really lucky to have you.

__________________
"I carried a watermelon?"

President of the no F's given society.
sarahsweets is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
MickeyCheeky
 
Thanks for this!
LiteraryLark, MickeyCheeky
Anonymous32451
Guest
Anonymous32451 has no updates. Edit
 
Posts: n/a
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 06:31 AM
  #5
yep.... holiday letdown

I'm sat here 2 days after christmas day, wondering howe I ended up with a music box and some perfume which I don't even like

high expectations... none of them met

should have known really

and now everything is so normal.

not in a good way either.

this stretch of emptyness between christmas and new year is the absolute worst

.... I need to take my decorations down too

at some point..
  Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
LiteraryLark, MickeyCheeky, Open Eyes
 
Thanks for this!
LiteraryLark, MickeyCheeky
DechanDawa
Grand Magnate
DechanDawa LEAVING
 
Member Since: Nov 2015
Location: United States
Posts: 3,815
8 yr Member
1,043 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 07:20 AM
  #6
I think all of LL's gifts sounded beyond awesome. My kid did not get me thoughtful gifts this year and it hurt.

I ordered some stuff from Amazon for myself...and I am glad I did. I always do this because I am not one to wait to be treated special. And I am glad I did because this year my gifts to myself were the best I got.

LL, sweetheart...I am sorry you had to go through feeling upset. I am not sure why. The gifts to your parents were so incredibly awesome. And you came through for your brother beautifully.

You should be proud of yourself!

__________________

DechanDawa is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
MickeyCheeky
 
Thanks for this!
LiteraryLark, MickeyCheeky
DechanDawa
Grand Magnate
DechanDawa LEAVING
 
Member Since: Nov 2015
Location: United States
Posts: 3,815
8 yr Member
1,043 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 07:22 AM
  #7
Quote:
Originally Posted by raging vortex View Post
yep.... holiday letdown

I'm sat here 2 days after christmas day, wondering howe I ended up with a music box and some perfume which I don't even like

high expectations... none of them met

should have known really

and now everything is so normal.

not in a good way either.

this stretch of emptyness between christmas and new year is the absolute worst

.... I need to take my decorations down too

at some point..





But a music box sounds nice.

__________________

DechanDawa is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
MickeyCheeky
 
Thanks for this!
MickeyCheeky
MickeyCheeky
Legendary
 
MickeyCheeky's Avatar
MickeyCheeky My echo is the only voice coming back
 
Member Since: Jun 2016
Location: Italy
Posts: 11,817 (SuperPoster!)
5 yr Member
38.4k hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 08:16 AM
  #8
Your gifts were amazing, LiteraryLark. Please don't be so hard on yourself. You're an amazing, kind, and thougthful person. I hope your family will appreciate what you're doing for them. Be proud of yourself. Don't give up! I hope you'll feel better soon. Let us know how it goes. Feel free to PM me anytime. Sending many hugs to you
MickeyCheeky is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Thanks for this!
LiteraryLark
LiteraryLark
Crowned "The Good Witch"
 
LiteraryLark's Avatar
LiteraryLark is healing
 
Member Since: Jun 2009
Location: Wonderland
Posts: 11,535 (SuperPoster!)
10 yr Member
1,318 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 02:10 PM
  #9
I spent most of the night awake and restless but when I did sleep I woke up to all your wonderful and kind words. I read the messages over and over because it had meant so much to me. Thank you for your hugs and support!

While I was in and out of sleep I decided to return the extra set of poker chips I bought because they were so heavy and I knew before going into the post office that the shipping would be an extravagant gift in itself as the poker set weighed a TON, it came in a metal-type suitcase with authentic chips in look and weight. But between the $10 return and the $9 I earned from cashing in the recycled cans I felt I saved $19 on the shipping which I felt made up for the buku cost of the priority shipping that I just had to have. The anticipated date of the package is December 31st, hopefully coming sooner and certainly hoping not later! Oh, I hope I hope he loves them!
LiteraryLark is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
DechanDawa
Grand Magnate
DechanDawa LEAVING
 
Member Since: Nov 2015
Location: United States
Posts: 3,815
8 yr Member
1,043 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 03:37 PM
  #10
Quote:
Originally Posted by LiteraryLark View Post
I spent most of the night awake and restless but when I did sleep I woke up to all your wonderful and kind words. I read the messages over and over because it had meant so much to me. Thank you for your hugs and support!

While I was in and out of sleep I decided to return the extra set of poker chips I bought because they were so heavy and I knew before going into the post office that the shipping would be an extravagant gift in itself as the poker set weighed a TON, it came in a metal-type suitcase with authentic chips in look and weight. But between the $10 return and the $9 I earned from cashing in the recycled cans I felt I saved $19 on the shipping which I felt made up for the buku cost of the priority shipping that I just had to have. The anticipated date of the package is December 31st, hopefully coming sooner and certainly hoping not later! Oh, I hope I hope he loves them!




Shipping is just a bane of holiday gift giving. This year my shipping costs were practically more than the value of what was inside the boxes. And I tried to buy things that were lightweight. Just so you know, LL, you are not alone in this. I have often considered the cost of shipping against sending the gift! In the end I send it out.


One thing that helps is I have a separate savings account for Christmas and birthdays. Each month a certain amount of money is automatically deposited into it from my checking account. Not much, but it adds up. This really helps me to defray the cost of shipping...which is...really horrible.

It's an awesome gift for your brother...but maybe next year get him some hoodies and some flannels? Lightweight stuff.

Please know you made a great and creative Christmas.

__________________

DechanDawa is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
LiteraryLark
 
Thanks for this!
LiteraryLark
LiteraryLark
Crowned "The Good Witch"
 
LiteraryLark's Avatar
LiteraryLark is healing
 
Member Since: Jun 2009
Location: Wonderland
Posts: 11,535 (SuperPoster!)
10 yr Member
1,318 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 05:05 PM
  #11
Yes Dech, I had my mind up that I wanted the priority shipping no matter what the cost, my brother means the world to me and I want him to feel special....and standard shipping was maybe $5-7 cheaper but took twice as long to ship!
LiteraryLark is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
DechanDawa
Grand Magnate
DechanDawa LEAVING
 
Member Since: Nov 2015
Location: United States
Posts: 3,815
8 yr Member
1,043 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 05:20 PM
  #12
Quote:
Originally Posted by LiteraryLark View Post
Yes Dech, I had my mind up that I wanted the priority shipping no matter what the cost, my brother means the world to me and I want him to feel special....and standard shipping was maybe $5-7 cheaper but took twice as long to ship!




We are practically forced into Priority Shipping, aren't we?

Oh well, it sounds like you are in a better mood, and like, wow, this just seems like a perfect gift for your brother...and something he will have for a long time.

You know, you put a lot of effort into Christmas this year. It seems okay you might be feeling a bit of a letdown...just because of all the emotions.

I hope now you do something kind for yourself, LL.


I also know you moved this year...and after a lot of trauma with your previous home. So much has happened to you recently in your life. Yet, still, you thought of others this year.

Please get creative and do something special for yourself. You deserve it, little Elf!

__________________

DechanDawa is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
LiteraryLark
 
Thanks for this!
LiteraryLark
LiteraryLark
Crowned "The Good Witch"
 
LiteraryLark's Avatar
LiteraryLark is healing
 
Member Since: Jun 2009
Location: Wonderland
Posts: 11,535 (SuperPoster!)
10 yr Member
1,318 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Dec 27, 2018 at 06:00 PM
  #13
Quote:
Originally Posted by DechanDawa View Post
We are practically forced into Priority Shipping, aren't we?

Oh well, it sounds like you are in a better mood, and like, wow, this just seems like a perfect gift for your brother...and something he will have for a long time.

You know, you put a lot of effort into Christmas this year. It seems okay you might be feeling a bit of a letdown...just because of all the emotions.

I hope now you do something kind for yourself, LL.


I also know you moved this year...and after a lot of trauma with your previous home. So much has happened to you recently in your life. Yet, still, you thought of others this year.

Please get creative and do something special for yourself. You deserve it, little Elf!
Yes, the responses I received today made a world of difference and made me look at my efforts from a different perspective. I did find somethings for myself with my Christmas money, two very special “sexy things” that I had lost and thought I’d never get again as they were discontinued at the shop I routinely went to in California, I also got my favorite perfume and the mancala board game. And the rest I’ll spoil on us three best friends at Pig N Pancake and lunch...I’m so excited to see them in FIVE days!
LiteraryLark is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
Anonymous57363, DechanDawa, unaluna
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:23 AM.
Powered by vBulletin® — Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.



 

My Support Forums

My Support Forums is the online community that was originally begun as the Psych Central Forums in 2001. It now runs as an independent self-help support group community for mental health, personality, and psychological issues and is overseen by a group of dedicated, caring volunteers from around the world.

 

Helplines and Lifelines

The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

Always consult your doctor or mental health professional before trying anything you read here.