Here, on December 28, this is mostly a moot point…but I still feel the need to tell on myself a bit, to record a bit of the craziness…in hopes that I might learn from my misgivings and manage next year’s holiday in a little more orderly fashion.
I generally think of myself as taking a very commonsensical approach to the holidays. We have a small family and a relatively small circle of friends, so I don’t buy a lot of gifts. But I like to do little things…mostly baked goods…for the people we know.
I thought I had it all figured out…and I did get a great start a couple of weeks before Christmas. I had all the homemade goodies for Hubby’s colleagues ready to go on the Monday before his last day of school the next Friday. Early and eager, I was!
And then we went to Alabama a full week before Christmas. We enjoyed our visit, and came home on Tuesday before Christmas.
And I guess that’s where I went wrong.
In my mind, I had all sorts of time between our Alabama trip and Christmas day. And maybe that’s why I sat back and didn’t do a darn thing for a couple of days. (That’s not really true…but that’s the way it felt during my near-meltdown on Christmas Eve).
I began the majority of my work in the kitchen on Thursday afternoon, and it seemed like every spare moment for the next 48 hours was spent with flour on my hands, batter on my elbows, and a sink full of dirty dishes.
I don’t mean to complain about the batter on my elbows…rather, I love being in the midst of mess in my kitchen. It’s just that I felt so rushed…like I was on a deadline…that I couldn’t really enjoy it. And sadder yet, nor could I enjoy the time with my girls that I wanted to.
In the spirit of confessions, here are some of the things that I let slide during my frenzy…
• Laundry. We lived out of the clothes basket for about a week. I would get from the dryer what we needed, maybe fold a few pieces here and there, but I never saw the bottom of the basket for way too long.
• Cleanliness. My girls didn’t have a bath for approximately 3 ½ weeks. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but we definitely missed a scrubbing or two.
• Suitcases. Our suitcases from our trip stayed piled in my bathroom for a full week. SHOOT ME NOW!
• Christmas cards. I got about 2/3 of my cards in the mail before Christmas, but there are a good 1/3 that will fall into the New Year’s card camp, for sure.
• Groceries. The girls and I went for necessities – and more baking supplies – when we got back from Alabama. However, I somehow failed to plan a Christmas day menu! Honestly, we probably ate what we would have anyway, since I’d been thinking about certain things for a while…but it was some kinda weird not to have my menu planned in advance!
Despite my lack of planning, we still had a great Christmas. And on December 28, I’m very happy to report that my laundry is caught up, the holiday decorations are down, and my house is back in order.
Now I’d better start thinking about our New Year’s plans…before December 31!
Ticker
6 comments:
Oh, my friend, how I feel your pain. My house is a wreck, we are all about to run out of underwear from lack of laundry, and I'm pretty sure the twins' suitcase from THANKSGIVING is still half packed...
It's the worst feeling in the world. But, your kids won't remember any of that... they'll remember how awesome their mommy always made the holidays. And you did. :)
Hooray for New Year's plans!!!
I realized on Monday that my daughters had not bathed since Thursday. I had to work that night, so much to their dismay, I made them take a shower around 3pm! I also spent all day Monday and part of Tuesday doing laundry. And I have another load in right now. I think I'll declare tomorrow a laundry-free day!
:) I know for you it felt like a big deal but I can ASSURE you, no-one else thinks the same.
ANd I feel completely honoured that your card was the first on my ribbon this year :)
Normally I'm worse but this time I unpacked the hospital stuff straight away, mainly so I could get the laundry over and done with, because I hate it!
I'm so with you! Initially it felt like there was tons of time until Christmas and I'd gotten a jump start on my baking so I wasn't at all concerned...same thing come Christmas Eve though...oh crap! We need eggs for Christmas brunch! And cinnamon rolls! And hash browns! How could I forget that?!
And the laundry?! Oh geez...don't even get me started on that!
The other ladies are absolutely correct - no one but you is going to remember that! The kids will remember how awesome Christmas was and how much fun they had helping you bake...that's it! Don't beat yourself up too much =).
Go easy on yourself! At least you made it to the big stuff, like baking...I mooched off the other cooks in my family since I ran out of time (and energy and motivation).
Ha! Life is so crazy this time of year. Adam hadn't had a nap in a week I think and we attempted one finally today but no luck. Thankfully since we've been back home, we've gotten him to bed early each night...which is good b/c he went about 4 days straight with NO naps and super late bedtimes!
Decorations are still up but the house is pretty well picked up. Such a relief!
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