Well, the party’s over (although some New Years Eve bashes may still be winding up), and it’s time to head back to work.
The biggest hurdle will be getting out of bed when the alarm goes off rather than just hitting ’snooze’ and going back to sleep. (Thank goodness I didn’t get one of those alarm clocks that run away as a Christmas present.) Once I’m up I can shower and dress pretty much on autopilot, which works really well providing I don’t grab a pair of jeans when I’m after a shirt.
Being the first day back after such a long break, I’ll be playing catch-up for a while. But if I get there by nine, I should be back to full speed by… some time on Thursday. Maybe.
First I’ll have to clear out the hundreds of emails sitting in my inbox about work-related issues I’ve spent the entire break trying to forget. I’ll probably just delete them because:
- I won’t know what they’re talking about anyway
- if I’ve forgotten about the issue, then maybe they have too, and we can drop the whole thing.
Once my inbox is empty, and my fingers have recovered from hitting ‘Delete’ a million times, it’ll be time for the main event: the Christmas Holiday Showdown.
You know the drill: you all stand around telling each other what you did over the break, and hope you don’t come across as a lazy slob. You can be one. You just can’t sound like one.
So you have two choices:
- actually do something constructive with your time — build a shed, take the family on holiday, cure cancer, etc.
- make something up.
Most people go for the second option, because it’s cheaper and you’re less likely to lose a thumb. But you do need to come up with a convincing story, which can take time. This is why people have trouble sleeping on Sunday nights — they’re too busy making up stories about what they did on the weekend.
(Hint: Having kids is a definite advantage, because you can say you took them to the beach/movies/hospital and everyone will believe you. If you don’t have any yet, talk to your partner.)
But for once I don’t have to make anything up. Not only did Lynda and I go on a cruise, I’ve got dozens of photos I can use as evidence. So for the first time in years I can get a decent night’s sleep.
Which is just as well, because I’ll need all my strength to hammer that ‘Delete’ key.