As we plunge into the holiday season, there will be triggers. Those tiny nuggets that invade our peaceful existence. During these festive times, we will also encounter many personalities. Lots and lots of personalities. This is why Santa only visits once a year. He doesn’t like people either.

Let me tell you a story, boys and girls, about a pesky little thing called “triangular communication”. This seems to be the adult version of “telephone” except it is super annoying. Once upon a time, there was a delightful woman. This woman was full of sunshine as long as people didn’t piss her off. She was a woman of her word, so if she said she would be completing a task you asked her to do, trust that she would honor that.

One day, she received a call from someone, let’s call them individual A. Individual A relayed a message from individual B, in regards to a task that she was to complete. A task that was already done and relayed to individual B long before individual A had called. She politely told individual A, to “butt out”. After the conversation with individual A, she was annoyed, triggered, and vowed to stop interacting with people who exasperated her. Sadly, this would be about 98 percent of the population.

The moral to the story is to talk directly to the person. Stop going through other people. A direct channel of communication, shockingly, is healthy for relationships, and going through a third party is a waste of time. This is your holiday PSA and you’re welcome.