cranky people

In December, I find that many, OK most people I encounter are pretty cranky. Whether they are stressed about gift buying, the lack of money for gift buying, or some other stress, people just seem to be exceptionally rude around the holidays. So, what's the remedy you might ask? I have found that being extra extra nice has been the best course of action I have taken so far. If you are nasty in response, you only end up dampening your spirit and then your encounters with others after that, and then we end up in one big bad black holiday cheer cloud. This year I tried the super extra nice method, and it worked, but it was surely tiring. When it didn't work, I cheerfully told people that they didn't need to speak that way to me, with a big-a** smile on my face, of course. That seemed to work, too. I welcome January in the hopes that although it may be blistery cold, people just might be cheerier with the stresses of the holidays behind us -- at least until that ridiculous February holiday.