It’s so cliché, I almost hate to say it. But say it or not, I have it…and I have it bad.

The holiday hangover.

And the holiday season isn’t even quite over. It happens every year. As Christmas passes and we head down the homestretch to the New Year, I feel the strange combination or letdown and elation.

First of all, I’m not ready to put away the Christmas music, the decorations, or the waiting for Santa feeling. So I hold it close as I drag my feet through the next few days of 2011. Then I get excited for what the New Year might bring…and the celebration that will usher in 2012.

And let’s not forget the left over cookies, hams, and eggnog.

Cookie…thou art mine enemy.

My pants still button, but they just don’t hang the same. And as I pass the refrigerator I feel the pull as if I’m a magnet.

I know in a few days I will be making one of those token resolutions…the ones you make but never really keep beyond the end of January, when the Valentine’s Day chocolate starts to call your name.

I know I’ll have to pack up Christmas pretty soon. The tree has a week at best before it completely disintegrates from lack of water.  But for now, I’m holding on to the merriment as long as I can.

I have a birthday, and a holiday still to come.

Until the next time…I’ll be making merry!