Something is horribly wrong.
Why am I calm and happy during the holiday prep time? I need to sort this out.
- after 19 years in the same house--the learning curve of Christmas decorating has finally kicked in. No more struggling with creating the impossible bow (did that in 1994 -- still functional). No more wondering what lights to put where (mastered that in 2005). Where to get the tree? Home Depot...25 minutes total task time, including travel. If by some cruel twist of fate, I suffer complete loss of eyesight, I will still be able to place each nutcracker in its proper military line guarding the left side of the fireplace mantel.
- no "extra" demands are made of me by pesky kids. How was I supposed to create the perfect holiday mood with everybody here? The laundry, grocery shopping, driving, sporting events, and foul smelling sneakers put a huge cramp in my Christmas spirit. Since now I grocery shop
only when Tom's hunger pains force him to seriously look at the ingredients on the side of the dog biscuit box. I have more holiday cheer time.
- shopping for the perfect presents for three boys used to drag me down. As soon as I walked through the shop lifting metal detector chamber at Best Buy (on the way IN - why is that?), I would get the "entering the gates of hell" feeling. The heat, the overbearing crowds and the satanic employees, created that holiday Hades experience Now...what to give the 21,22,25 year olds? Cash. Done. Ahhhh.
I think that I am starting to figure it out.
