I and my toddler were watching Diwali lights and decoration few minutes back and something hit me, my pattern of experiencing melancholy during festivals. Looking back for past 7-8 years I don’t remember enjoying any festivals as I did as kid or teen. I sometimes come up with a reason of heartbreak, the other time was loss of my beloved, this year I feel alone although I live with my in laws and i have got my kid with me.
On the other hand, I am confused if its normal for not enjoying festivals as people do and expect. But what’s certain is i am experiencing festival blues this time like I have been experiencing all these years.
Reality hits us like a truck and the things that gives us fun changes over time. It’s time for your toddler to enjoy it and for you to make sure he enjoys it as much as you did back then.
I guess thats what growing up is. I have loss the excitement of festivals. But lately I started calling up my cousins (group call) and we reminisce the days of our pasts. I started telling stories of us enjoying festivities to my colleague and friends. Oh I act excited for my younger cousins during their festivities. I video call them and ask them to show what they bought; even sneak in some extra cash to them to waste money with no regrets.
Now I try do things for little ones what I wished someone has done for me when i was young. Although I am nostalgic of past; but I now have power to make it better for Little ones. Its alright to feel festival blues but try to make a better memories for your toddler.
I think you either have to make peace with how festivals make you feel or put a deliberate effort into finding little things that spark joy during this season. Just contemplating and staying in between will do no good.
P.S- Happy Tihar✨️
Happy dipawali!
I don’t enjoy festivals as much either. it’s not
Festivals, visiting relatives etc aren’t as much fun as you grow older..at least that’s been what I’ve experienced. It used to be way fun as kids because all you’d think of, care about is playing with cousins and collecting money (gifts from in-laws etc). You’d have zero responsibilities, could wake up anytime you’d want, staying up all night for fun (taas, mischievous acts with cousins etc) would be rituals but when you’re older, those things aren’t really relatable.
That said, festivals are really miserable, especially if you live abroad. You gotta work around schedules of foreigners and your festivities are extremely limited. On top of that, most of your relatives and close ones are pretty far away.