If you are like me (lucky you), you spend the bulk of Christmas day in the kitchen. After having spent several days before Christmas preparing for the show. It is a show, right? And moms--mostly--put it on. We decorate, we shop, we put on classroom parties, we shop, we clean, we shop, we work, we shop, we wrap, we run to the store for one last little thing and return home having forgotten toilet paper. And during all this we keep on doing all the regular things that take up nearly all our waking hours already. Yes, I'm complaining a little again. Or, as a dear, understanding friend told me,"being real." The same friend who offered me a bottle of homemade Irish cream. Coincidence? I don't think so.
But, back to the post at hand.
Today is the day after Christmas (which went quite nicely, after all). The house is pretty clean (since I did the dishes last night--I mean, why leave the kitchen?), the relatives have gone, the kids are occupied. Can we all just breathe a collective sigh of relief?
With me, now: inhale, one, two, three, four, exhale.
Hubby and I even got the kids out for a nice little walk. I don't think I had been outside in two days. It felt great.
This morning I was thinking, again, that Christmas is for children. The show is for the children. As a mom, Christmas is all about giving. If I think about it that way (and have a glass of wine) I can get through it. Time spent with Hubby preparing the feast he wants to eat, cooking for my kids and relatives. Energy spent getting the things in place that need to be there for the show. Giving (that's what the namesake of Christ-mas was all about, after all). It's not about me.
But today? I got a little something. I watched Holiday Inn--in the living room with the rest of the family! They even watched it a little, too. I may make fans of them, yet.
Each year, I focus a little more on Winter Solstice as my own quiet celebration of the season. It makes sense to me and brings me comfort. This year I was able to observe and reflect and I spent some time writing down some thoughts and ideas for next year. It is evolving for me, and that feels nice. I'll leave you with a photo taken on that day, another one of the best days of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment