Last year, I waited until rather late to get into the holiday spirit. But this year? I’m on my own radar, okay? I want to jump into holiday mode as early as today.
I don’t know how I forgot to remember this on the 1st of November, but I mean, it’s never too late to begin, right?
Haaaah!
So, starting today, I’m officially in holiday mode.
I remember sometime around December 15th last year, I texted one of my bosses and asked, “So, when do we break for the holidays?”
His response?
“🤣 But Val, aren’t you home every day?”
First of all, that wasn’t the point…..
I think what I really meant to ask was, “When do I get to shut down my brain completely?”
Here’s the thing. Once Friday afternoon comes around, my brain usually shuts down. Totally. And for the entire weekend, I do not engage it.
Anything you see me doing over the weekend is done in brainlessness mode.
Yes, brainlessness. That’s officially a word now.
And that’s precisely the energy I’m trying to carry into November and December.
See, the thing is, once October comes around, October 1st to be specific, the annual end of year fatigue starts creeping in. And I promise you, it’s not a mindset thing.
The body just knows.
Now, obviously, I can’t shut down my brain for the rest of the year. Bills still exist. Work still exists.
But surely I can enter holiday mode?
At least that much is allowed, right?
I’m turning 30 on the 26th of December!
THIRTY! As in, the big 3 0.
I’m thrilled. But let me not even get started on that because we’ll be here all day.
Anyway, being a village girl comes with its perks.
On Monday morning, I was settling in after getting back home from Rouzie’s when Mum called out from the verandah.
“Val, ni wewe utabebea Lado nguo akienda kubatiswa.”
(By the way, is it kubatiswa or kupatiswa? My Luhyaness occasionally betrays me.)
Now, that’s a rather interesting direct translation from Maragoli, but essentially, she was telling me that I’d be Lado’s spiritual mother at her baptism.
A little context.
In our church, we practise baptism by immersion in water. So, naturally, after someone has been immersed and comes out of the water, they need a change of clothes. And there’s someone entrusted with that responsibility.
You get the picture?
Anyway, I took a second to register what Mum had just said.
My first thought was, Val, when did you get this old?
Because listen, I know I’m getting older, okay? I just don’t remember it most of the time.
In my head, I’m about six years old.
Imagine, children already started calling me Aunty.
AUNTY VAL!
Jesus!
Anyway, after the initial shock, I laughed and shouted back, “Ati?”
Mum repeated herself.
And I just laughed again.
First of all, I identify as a joke most of the time. So you can imagine how seriously I take myself.
But honestly, once the laughter settled, I thought about how wholesome the whole thing was.
That Lado’s mum would trust me with such a role is something I don’t take for granted.
Let it go down in history, okay?
Also, and I say this with absolutely no modesty, I’m usually very good with children.
My niece Angel knows this.
Most of the time, I’m the bad cop. Except, of course, for those nights when we’re hiding in our room, munching on snacks I’ve secretly stashed away from everyone else.
That’s different. That’s our business.
I’m a bit of a kid whisperer, actually.
Especially with the preteens in my neighbourhood. They enjoy hanging out with me.
I swear I’m not lying.
And Lado?
Oh, Lado has that cool vibe.
You know those children who are so effortlessly cool that they almost intimidate adults?
That’s her.
She’s calm, grounded, and just has this quiet confidence about her. An amazing kid, really.
So yes, I’m genuinely thrilled to be part of such a meaningful day in her life.
Now, you might be wondering what any of this has to do with my holiday mode.
Well.
Like I said, I’m turning 30 on December 26th.
Lado’s baptism is on the 27th.
Do you see the problem?
Traditionally, December 26th is one of those days when I make absolutely no use of my brain.
As in, totally.
At all.
And consequently, December 27th usually finds me in a very specific condition.
I wake up craving an extremely cold Fanta Orange.
By then, I’ve usually stocked up on my Mara Moja tablets the previous day because, for real… experience is the best teacher.
The rest of the day is spent hydrating, recovering, and avoiding anything that even remotely smells like food.
If you know, you know.
So naturally, when Mum mentioned the baptism date, that was my first concern.
I mean, this isn’t just any birthday.
This is my THIRTIETH birthday!
I turned to Mum and said, “Mum, you know this birthday is very special to me because I’m turning 30.”
And my sweet, nonchalant mum, without any hesitation, casually said, “You’ll carry it forward.”
Just like that.
I was genuinely nervous about that arrangement for a while, but I’ve since made peace with it.
Apparently, my 30th birthday behaviour will have to be postponed.
I don’t even know how to properly communicate just how excited I am about the holidays.
I’m just so thrilled.
So yes, I’m declaring holiday mode open.
It’s all in my head, though, because I know I’m going to be home 99% of the time. But it’s the thought that counts in this case.
