It’s that time of year…again.
Lyrics from The Christmas Waltz gently sing about “when the world falls in love”; I would so like to believe that, somewhere, someone isn’t caught up in absolute holiday madness and is managing to gleefully dance along through all the preparations with a song in their heart.
Some of you still have turkey and trimmings left, don’t you?
I knew it…me too!
Almost overnight, we go full swing from one holiday right into another but, hey, there’s no pressure, no stress, not at all.
Like hell there isn’t!
For example, the day after Thanksgiving, the first Christmas card of 2010 arrived in our mailbox; this, I felt, was just a little over the holiday top. That card was sent by someone totally organized who purchased their box of holiday greetings and gift wrappings the day after last Christmas at 50% off; by someone who likely has all their shopping done, gifts wrapped, tree up and decorated, sinful yardage of icicle lights tacked up on their home and all their holiday baking done.
I hate people like that!
That used to be me.
How did I once manage to coordinate holiday preparations with three young children in tow and now, years later with aforementioned birds having left the nest and just my husband and myself, I’m already stressed about not having everything in place…not even started?
What happened to me….where did I go?
It seems the magic of the season has disappeared for me. Each year I’ve anxiously awaited that first blast of holiday music on the radio, always getting that little zing of excitement that ran up the back of my neck when Nat King Cole’s voice started crooning about chestnuts roasting. Gone is the thrill of taking down endless boxes of decorations from the attic, watching the first snowflakes of the season arrive to gently rest on the trees outside my windows or the sight of a home with a candle in every window. It’s these, simple, things I miss the most. Mostly, I miss the person I used to be during the weeks leading up to this most wonderful time of the year.
If someone sees my photo on some milk carton or recognizes me wandering aimlessly through some overheated, crowded mall……send me home.
Thank you!
