What triggers your hot button during the holidays?

I'm a lot thankful now that Thanksgiving's over.  I mean, there's so much joy in coming home for this tradition but it just gets the worst out of my system. Did you feel like you just want to shout from the rooftops and let everyone know, that hey, you have a life, duh? I felt the  exact same emotion when I went home almost two weeks ago.  A bad mood can definitely take the joyous spirit,right?

I don't want to experience the "rant" that I felt last Thanksgiving, so I made a quick self-discovery of what pushed me to the edge..sounds like a yoga statement,right? Know you wouldn't fall for it. Actually, what I did was just to look to back a few days and months preceding Thanksgiving to determine the factors that caused me to feel bad at what should be a peaceful and happy occasion.  Here's what I' ve come up:

• Money

Yes, doesn't everyone struggle to keep up with their budget? As I looked back, trying to keep up with the alloted budget gave me the mood swings. Got to allot for the food, for the gifts, for the decorations, and for the bills. What bothered me was even though I had figured out how much I'm going to spend for those stuff, still, it wasn't enough.  Bummer.

• Family reunions

Don't get me wrong, I do love my family. I love those that my family loves.  Feels funny that we all have unfinished businesses with one of our relatives.  And during the holidays, be it Thanksgiving or Christmas, we can't help but feel reminiscing of the negative emotions towards that relative whom we have differences. I have this cousin whom I don't despised, really. But since the day she spilled red paint on my favorite pajamas when we were six, I had my boundaries set.  Good thing she didn't come last Thanksgiving.  But the she-would-be-there feeling really troubled me before that.

• Civil status

Yes, the proverbial question that really ticks me off, and I bet it does get into you too.  No matter what kind of social gathering that I go to, people tend to look at my ring finger or if I have a "friend" with me.  Really, do I have to be attached just to be let alone by probing eyes? I'll settle when I feel that it's the right time. That's it.

There, these three things really make my holidays a little less than joyful.  But I still love the smell of the holidays, I'm not Ms. Grinch or any bitter Christmas character.  I love to eat and be with my family and wait for long lines at the airport just to get home.  Maybe I'm too old to wish from Santa, but hey, I'm a kid at heart. I wish for a stress and pressure-free Christmas. Ok, I wish for my cousin to come too.