This has been the time of year when the difference between men and women is, in one respect, most noticeable. I am not talking about things like hairy faces or the ability to hold drink, but the immemorial ability of women to do two – or at least two – things at once.
The party season is full of days which don’t demand one just to remember where the shopping list is and what time you said you’d be back, or the timeless struggle to cater to the needs of both a man and a child. I am thinking of the ability – if you can call it that – to get on with one’s usual work and remember to get hold of some Christmas cards and stamps, and then try to remember where you should be on New Year’s Eve while also trying to look for all the things that got lost during the festive upheavals.
But actually the way in which the festive season, now mercifully over, is like ordinary times is that it is not usually clear what is work and what is supposed to be fun.
A child may regard as a privilege something his or her elders think is a complete chore. So time is taken up arguing who is going to stir the pudding or to make a marvellous meal out of Christmas leftovers. They were happy to dress the tree but really can’t be bothered to take it down again by the end of 12th night.
As there is still time for some late New Year resolutions we can still remember what upset us during Christmas and resolve never to do it like that again. And write it down so that we won’t forget if, of course, we can remember where we wrote it. And a happy new you, too.
What do you think? Have your say below
