Hello friends! I hope you were able to enjoy Christmas and these last days of 2013.
I write from beautiful mid-coast Maine, where we are re-Christmasing with Mark’s family. After missing out on a true Thanksgiving feast (boohoo, we were on a Caribbean cruise), I was very happy to feast on their traditional holiday fare like deep-fried turkey, sweet potato casserole, asparagus with hollandaise, caramel pie, and cappuccino cheesecake, all thanks to my sister-in-law and her husband. I hope your Christmas was filled with treats, fun family moments, and all the happiness that goes with the season.
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I’m going to let you in on a little secret…never mind trying to enjoy Christmas…I didn’t think I’d make it to Christmas completely sane! For whatever reason, I felt enormously stressed these past few weeks and it made for one unhappy elf. Normally I adore the weeks that lead up to December 25th, with that happy holiday feeling propelling me through busy days. Not this time.
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If I were granted a do-over, I’d choose to stress less and enjoy Christmas more. More holiday movies, more cookie-making session, more sipping hot cocoa by the fire, and more time gawking at Christmas lights. If you can believe it, I didn’t even watch “White Christmas” or “Rudolph” this year. Unheard of!! I hope that never happens again. I seriously need to chill out and enjoy Christmas.
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The media heads are saying that the 6 fewer days of pre-Christmas prep affected everyone negatively, though to be sure they are mostly talking about the poor, under-patronized retailers. All I know is that I felt un-Christmas-y for most of December. This is a real crisis in what is usually Julie’s Joyland 🙂 After days of scowling, yelling at my poor kids, and silently crying at all the wrapping to be done, there was a shift somewhere inside me.
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It was around 7:00 pm on Monday night. I had just finished doing Georgia’s hair. The outfit she was wearing to the next night’s Christmas Eve service required curly hair, according to her highness, so for once, it was easy convincing her to get in the shower, and, when she was done, I happily took my time combing out snarls and making two tight braids. As I cuddled with my baby girl on the couch afterwards, that little voice was saying c’mon, you know you should be wrapping right now. But I was happy, comfy, and calm, and there was no power on Heaven or Earth that could have moved me from that spot, with my arms wrapped tight around my baby, her damp shampooed head resting against my chin. I told that voice to SHUT IT. We watched Elf through the entire credits, and eventually made our way upstairs to bed.
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Next Year Will Be Different
I’ve been much happier since that moment I stood up to that nagging, over-achieving inner self. Letting go is a beautiful feeling 🙂 I can say with confidence – at this moment anyway – that next year will be different. I’m sure of it, for one, because there is a reminder on my iPhone calendar for early November – it says CHILL OUT AND ENJOY CHRISTMAS, plus a few tips along those lines. Yes, I, um, put reminders for my psyche on my phone. Don’t you??
😛 😛
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Here’s to a beautiful new year for us all 🙂 I’ll be posting a couple new recipes soon, including an incredibly fluffy and delicious cinnamon roll pancakes. For now, I leave you with just a little pictoral evidence that I did, indeed, end up having a joyful Christmas. I hope my joy mirrors yours.
Rein-beer makes everybody smile 🙂 
The Robarts puttin’ on the ritz for the Christmas Eve service – never have we been so fancified all at once…
The under-decorated Christmas tree – such because we didn’t realize how sharp those Scotch pine needles can be!
Endless batches of Chex mix for family and friends
Happy, smiling Christmas faces 🙂
The Robarts puttin’ on the ritz for the Christmas Eve service – never have we been so fancified all at once…
The under-decorated Christmas tree – such because we didn’t realize how sharp those Scotch pine needles can be!
Endless batches of Chex mix for family and friends
Happy, smiling Christmas faces 🙂
CHEERS!
Thanks for having the courage to confess, Julie! I’m so glad to hear I wasn’t the only one who stumbled out of the gate on Christmas this year. Like you, I’m already putting a plan in place to make it different for 2014!
So true!
This year I felt myself withdrawing more and more from the endless reruns of not-yet-classic holiday time TV movies- and resisting the shopping trips I knew I should make for the Big Day. Maybe it was the fewer days to get it done- or the overflow of things-we-don’t-need cluttering my house— but I was in no mood for the holidays.
Whatever the case, I’m ready for a cleaning out and restart. Might even make some official resolutions for 2014! Thanks, in part, to your blog, I feel hopeful and inspired. Thanks for keeping up such a great series of posts and glimpses into your family experiences!
You, too? Oh no! We are doing some “cleaning” and making resolutions here, as well. Good luck with yours 🙂
Hi Jules, Christmases arn’t always fun and easy. You do so much with that happy smiling family of yours. Perhaps the Carribean Holiday so close to Christmas and Thanksgiving got in the way of all the planning that has to go along with the busy holidays.
Your fine, so fine
Love,
Jackie
Thank you, Aunt Jackie 🙂 I think you are right!!