Is It Too Early to Dread the Holidays Already?

I seriously need to get out of retail.  I used to love the holiday season.  Getting together with family, good food, football, food comas...What's not to like?  That has slowly changed over the last few years.  Now I just want the holiday season to be over.

You wonder why?  Let me break it down for you:

• Greed:  The holidays are now all about 'Black Friday Deals' and stores trying to lure you in to spend money you don't have.  Every year, you hear about people getting trampled when the doors open for Black Friday.  People get mugged, robbed.  People become violent when someone else takes the last 'Tickle-Me Elmo'.  All the while, the companies are laughing their way to the bank.  If their toy is the top toy, they makes bundles.  If someone gets hurt trying to get a limited edition toy, the companies cheer - it just means demand is so high that it outweighs supply.  They STILL make bundles.  Now, they are doing their damnedest to lure you out of your home on Thanksgiving.
• It's About Sales, Not Family:  When was the last time you remember someone saying they ate breakfast with their family on Christmas morning - and then opened presents.  Families don't get together anymore.  What makes it worse for me working in retail is that the odds are good I will be working on Thanksgiving...And Christmas Eve...And New Year's Eve...And New Years...All in the name of making money.  I mean for crying out loud, it's not even the end of October and everyone is selling Christmas decorations.  Seriously?!?
• It's the Angriest and Most Stressful Time of the Year:  Working in retail, I get to see the ugliest behavior that customers have to offer every day for almost two months.  Everyone is so stressed about getting everything they need for their parties.  They get pissed when they are shopping at 9PM the night before Thanksgiving and we have the audacity to run out of whole berry cranberry relish.  Then Christmas season hits and everyone is tired, angry and stressed - then they come shopping and take it out on retail workers everywhere.  Have you heard the expression 'Shit Rolls Downhill'?  Well, when managers get their asses handed to them by an enraged customer...the shit never stops rolling.
• Add PTSD to the Mix and What Do You Have?:  Anger, Stress, Extreme Anxiety, Insomnia, Nightmares, Hypervigilance, Intrusive Recollections, Angry Spouses, Angry Parents, Depression.  A veritable picnic - an emotional shitstorm of epic proportions.

That's what I have to face every year.  I fight really hard to keep an even keel and to be there for my family and this is what I have to look forward to.

I need a vacation.