Breathe In, Breathe Out-It's Christmas

Add caption

By the time I actually get this post finished, Winter solstice will have past, and us Albertan's will have experienced one short day. I poked my head outside for the few minutes of sunshine we had, and then raced back in to continue wrapping gifts...no, I raced back into grab the last gingersnap.

Really, that is neither here nor there; let's get down to business. If I'm truly finished writing this by the 23rd, that leaves us two days till Christmas. Count 'em- T-W-O. How are you feeling about this? Are you pacing and hyperventilating? Do you feel like you're on a runaway treadmill and can't find the off switch? Maybe you are sitting in your green chair with your feet up laughing at all the people making their last minute trips to town to buy more gifts - gomers. Your gifts have been wrapped for weeks, months maybe, packed away in alphabetical order, beside your freezer full of Christmas baking.

You didn't really want to hear about those green chair folks anyway, did you? They are the gomers after all?!?! Right...

Back to business. I am not the latter type, a super organized person with Christmas powers in my hands to have everything all in perfect shape. Yet, I can assure you that I'm not the former either. There is no wildness in this house, okay, not about Christmas anyway. Honestly, dear readers, I've said it a few times this week, Christmas comes and Christmas goes. What get's done, get's done, and what doesn't, doesn't. No one's going to be angry that there aren't gingersnaps on the table - except maybe your diabetic Uncle, but does he really need an extra four pounds of gingersnaps anyway? Do you really think your four year old will notice that his gift is wrapped in Loonie Store paper and looks kind of like he wrapped it himself, instead of with natural packing paper, hand stamped with homemade ribbon that took you four months to make? Nah. Your child will be in wonder with the twinkly lights on the tree, and mercy, if a tree didn't get put up, they will be enthused that  you are enthused about the day. They will remember everyone was happy and excited, they will remember Daddy reading Luke 2, they will remember you teaching them to take baking to the neighbours and to remember to pray for those that don't have a Christmas meal that day. Let's not teach our kid's to be stressed, to be wild over preparation for an event that we've marked on the calendar and keep thinking, "EGADS, FOUR MORE DAYS LEFT, I HAVEN'T BAKED THE NINETIETH BATCH OF SUGAR COOKIES!"

 "Johnny, go play, your Mommy will come up for air in twenty hours after she has scrubbed the walls for company coming, repainted the living room, cooked the hardest candy to make ever, all for Christmas, Johnny, all for Christmas!"

Slow down. Again, it will come and it will go. We'll all be a little fatter afterward, and hopefully we won't all be burnt right out, we'll have remembered what Christmas is truly all about.