Sunday, November 29, 2009

Am I Vulcan?

I am really starting to wonder if I'm part Vulcan. You know, Spock was a half-breed. Though I don't go as heavy on the blue eye-shadow as Great Uncle Spock, maybe I've got a little Vulcan-ocity in me too.

According to the all-knowing & ever accurate Wikipedia, Vulcan's "are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion." Now mind you I'm not ATTEMPTING, it's just been happening. It's most apparent during the holidays. I'm not using "the holidays" as a P.C. term but really do mean the holidays as in: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, Easter, Independence Day, and even vacations. As the years go by I just don't see the point of all of the hoopla. I want to celebrate each holiday and remember it's meaning but why must those be the days you MUST spend with family, you MUST decorate your house, you MUST have a generic gift at the ready to give to someone that might give one to you, you MUST have nasty macaroni salad at the bbq before the fire works even though no one eats it because it's gross? It's all illogical.

While I haven't decorated my home for any holiday including Christmas for several years now, my family has been understanding. They see it as, "if you don't wanna, don't." Have I mentioned I LOVE my family? I do however wanna buy them gifts & spend time with them. But with as awesome as my family is, I wanna do that all year 'round. It's not the holiday traditions, it's my family & friends that I want to remember the reason for the holiday with. And here's a shocker: it doesn't have to be one the actual day of the holiday.

My Vulcan bend does have to be knocked down a peg or two from time to time. For instance when I'm sitting out on a pier in beautiful Monterey having a lovely lunch with my amazaing husband while on a road trip celebrating our wedding anniversary, the Vulcan in me starts saying, "Why are you doing this? This money could be better spent? This is illogical. You should be paying bills with the money you're spending on this trip." Shut up Vulcan. What you say is true but this is good for my marriage & it's good for me. Or, when I'm asked what I would like for a birthday or Christmas gift and the Vulcan in me says, "You don't need anything. You've got more that most people in the world could ever dream of. It's not logical for them to buy you a gift". Shut up Vulcan. These people love me & want to show it. The truth is, these things are illogical but they're good for me and the people involved in them with me.

I want to get all gushy over the holidays. I really do. I'd love to get bundled up to brave the chilly 68 degree evening to find the perfect Christmas tree. But I'm just not interested. The Vulcan in me says it's a silly way for me to spend the time, money & stress of putting it up, watering it, taking it down & cleaning up after it. I'm not saying all of this is not logical for all. I'm saying it's not logical for me. I'm just not that sentimental I guess.

Part of the Vulcan way of life that does not apply to me is the lack of emotion. Anyone who knows me can attest to that. But I'm not emotional about holiday traditions for traditions sake.

4 comments:

Cat said...

The older I get, the more likely I am to celebrate things like sewing circle and small moments with the fam.

Live long and proper...

Anonymous said...

Well said ...

melissa said...

hmm, interesting. I tend to think of that part of me as my robot side. I don't get super mushy about things other people do, and I totally agree on the "Musts" list.

Love you Cate!

Kathleen Waln said...

Just getting caught up with the blog-o-sphere. Lovely post, Catherine--especially since you're half Vulcan. I love that Spock guy too.

Like you, I don't do the decorating holiday thing. Partly, I have a husband that's culturally Jewish. But like you I can't seem to do the "traditional" holidays. Hmm, I didn't know I was part Vulcan.

Live long, my friend. Kathy