In this house around Christmas…

I am sure that we are not too different from most homes around the holiday season but I felt like chatting about it anyway. In this house around Christmas:

• there is a lot of anxiety, on my part.
• at any given moment I will break into tears. Not unhappy, just weepy. I can’t hear a single Christmas song with Night in the title without losing it, which really sucks because if I could hold it together for half a second I would be singing at the top of my lungs. Much preferable to bawling like a moron.
• my dear hubby and I go round and round about how it is not about the stuff.
• I have a hard time transforming my home into a Christmas wonderland. If really lucky we will get the tree up before the 20th!
• it smells like heaven. I love to bake. To me, this means anything that cooks in the oven. I refuse to limit my “I love to bake” statement to sweets. Breads, slow roasted meats, and buttery potato dishes get thrown right in along with the goodies. The only thing I don’t make are sugar cookies. They are dumb. Weird of me to say that huh? I am sure it would be a blast to decorate them, then what? They aren’t really that good.
• I get lonely.
• a lot of time is spent in our pajamas.
• we are constantly in a conflict of traditions. My hubby’s family did things differently than mine did and it is always brought up. It is for this fact that I get stuck with most things. I get to shop, wrap, cook, make sure Santa finds us, arrange for photos (if I feel like it), address all cards, and tend to all things that involve the “Holiday Spirit”. And why not? I am a stay at home mom, with all the time in the world. Well, I think as Christmas coordinator for this house it would be a lot more like a family holiday if the entire family were in attendance. So there. Besides, it is exhausting.
• we do not buy into the hype. We can agree on one thing, all of the extra “traditions” that were either created by Hallmark or passed down in a culture we do not belong to are left out of the mix. We do not celebrate St. Nicolas’ day, there is no elf on my shelf, and even though we had one as a kid an advent calendar has not yet found its way into our home.  
• I often find myself overwhelmed.
• I am lucky enough to have a spouse that will chip in when it comes to dire straights. That is the decorating. If he didn’t do it it would not get done.
• my only wish is to create memories that will stand the test of time.

Here enjoy a picture of the rug rats taken last year:

Ok, maybe it is just a little bit about the stuff. Or maybe it is the selfish satisfaction of pleasing my beasts.

Bottom line is that there is a big picture, the main reason we are celebrating. Whatever your beliefs. For me the reason is Christmas, it is what we are celebrating. I refuse to send out “holiday” cards. My Christmas cards will always say Merry Christmas! It took a dear friend of mine, who happens to be Jewish, to point out that it is what it is and her cards always wish us a Happy Hanukkah, and I love that. 

Here’s to hoping everyone is enjoying the season!