Okay, this is going to sound totally selfish, but I feel like venting some, so don't read it if you don't want to hear it.
This Christmas was quite possibly the worst Christmas ever. And this includes a Christmas when my ex wife let me know she didn't want to be married to me anymore, so I have some history here lol.
It all started in August, when my mom and wife decided we needed a stand up freezer. We had a chest, but the thought was with a standup, we could get meat in volume, so it was cheaper. So my mom bought us the freezer.
Since then, I've bought a side of pork, a quarter beef, and 40 lbs of chicken breasts. So so far my Christmas gift has cost me approx $400. I know what you're thinking, I'm saving money, but I might also add that I rarely eat pork, and with our working hours, we cook maybe twice a week, and usually its chicken. And I can easily fit 40 pounds of chicken in my chest freezer.
Despite all this, I asked everyone close to me what they wanted in September, so I would have plenty of time to get them something they'd like.
So I took my oldest son to a store he wanted clothes from, and he got to pick out so much, and i put it on layaway, and paid a little each paycheck.
My youngest wanted an xbox 360, and was saving, and traded some stuff in, and my mom and I paid for the rest, so he had the better version. He also got some dvd's and cd's off of amazon.
Both the boys got a few games for their systems also.
I got my wife a jewelry set she wanted, and did the layaway thing, so I had a few months to pay it all off, not break myself, and they all got what they wanted.
From previous blogs, it's no secret my wife and I have struggled to coexist at times. Recently she's had her shift switched to thirds, so sadly it has improved, because I rarely see her. But she's still my wife, so she deserves some reward for putting up with my dumb ass all year long. She also got a few little things, nothing major.
So Christmas arrives, and we open gifts. My mom got me a box set and a dvd i wanted. I was with her, because she tells us every year to pick up whatever we wanted, because she's busy, and can't be bothered. Hence the freezer. This bugs me, because there is no thought in it, but its been going on forever, so I'm used to it.
My oldest got me a movie and a gift card. I didn't really want that movie, but he's watched it 4 times since Christmas, so that worked out lol. He's 16 and broke, so it was the thought that counted.
My youngest got me the best gift of the year. He had a calendar made with pictures of him and his brother when they were growing up. I'm sure his mom came up with the idea, and did everything but pick out the pictures, but it was a GREAT gift.
Now comes my wife's gift. Now keep in mind, the last few weeks we've been shopping for her family, and I paid for some of it. I bought for everyone on my side, and my cousins breed like bunnies. She's been working overtime the last month, so she did her family pretty good.
So imagine my surprise when I get my gifts, and I got a mortal and pestel for the kitchen, a cheese cutter (she had just broken our old one), and don't get me wrong, they were made out of granite, so they did cost more than average. A book that she wanted to read, and a cd that I had been wanting.
She then apologized stating that she didnt have that much time, and I didn't give her any ideas.
Because everything I told her, she'd say that I wouldn't use it, or that I didn't really need it.
She works third shift, so had all day, and I had been hinting for months that I wanted a certain saw, that she could have got for $50.
Then, to top it off, we go to her families, and we get our gifts, and I get $100 gift card for Farm and Fleet from her grandma, so I'm stoked because I can get the saw there. Her aunt also got me a $25 gc there, so I was flush with Farm and money.
So Thursday, I was going shopping there after work with my giftcards. My wife calls me in the morning, and tells me how her cousin is over, and how her bf for over a year and a half didn't bother getting her anything for xmas.
She's a single mom, three kids, works a job and is trying to be a welder, going to school for it. Yes, we do live in the country. But that made me feel bad, and so I told my wife that I'd get her the welder's helmet she wanted, and use my cards, because I'd stillhave enough for the saw that I wanted. So I go there, and pick up the helmet, and bit o honey, and check out. The welding helmet was $80, on sale, so when I check out, I give the gift cared that was supposedly $100, and find out it was for only $50. So I use the one from her aunt, and some of my own money, and go home.
Her cousin loved her welding helmet, was all excited, and said that I really helped save her holiday. That did make me feel good.
But now I'm sawless, Shieldless, but I do know what day of the week it was, and how cute my kids are.
So now I feel like a total jerk, because I feel this way, but the complete lack of caring and effort is reminding me of my last few holidays with my ex wife, so its depressing.
Next year, everyone gets checks, for $5 for every year that I knew them. And a request that nobody buys me anything.
I hate holidays
