Beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

Soaring tempertaures, stressed family members, money worries out the wazoo... Ah, it's that time of year again.

Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas. Love it, in fact. But that's the day itself, generally the first half, before we're invaded and things get tense in the parental department. Yes, stress-related illnesses benefit so much from having a bunch of relatives drop in and expect a party. But the bits beforehand? Ugh, you can keep them, especially when it's compounded this year by the fact that I have not even the money for postage to send cards. Hell, I can barely afford gifts for my family - my brother and I went halves in teh grandparents' gifts this year.

What makes it harder is that people are asking me what I want and hinting there are cards/gifts in the works. Which sucks, because I can't return the gesture except with a lousy free e-card. I know it's not about value, but I really get a kick out of gift giving, seeing the reaction a well-thought-out gift has. And people have already done so much for me this year that I feel like doing something. And time is another commodity I don't have, which means writing specific stuff is also out.

Financial woes are the bane of a generous nature, I can tell you.