Countdown Time

Christmas is only days — dare I say hours? — away, so our family is in serious countdown mode. Here’s a sampling of what I’ve survived (um, I mean achieved) in the past week:

• Singing in our choir’s Christmas cantata last Sunday (which my husband had a solo in and did a great job with, I must say!)
• Cooking like a fiend every day last week. The rundown: 5 dozen cinnamon rolls for my husband to take to his department breakfast; a casserole to take to our daughter’s school for the teacher luncheon hosted by PTO; munchies for our son to take to school for their class party; 3 batches of chocolate peanut butter bars to share with the kids’ teachers; carrots with honey for our daughter’s international holiday luncheon (her group studied China — they didn’t look exactly like the photo in the book, but tasted pretty good!); cinnamon bread to share during snack time at church yesterday. I’m no Paula Deen, but felt like I stayed in the kitchen as much as she does!I don’t know how the woman does it.
• Helping our son study for his first official exams in middle school. He did great and we’re really proud — it’s almost like we earned those grades ourselves!
• Going to parties on back-to-back days in our daughter’s class
• Relaxing at our Sunday school class party (with a bowl of fruit and little apple tarts courtesy of Kroger’s freezer section — I was too worn out to cook anything else by that point!)
• Shuttling kids to the usual after school activities (piano lessons, dance class, trumpet lessons)
• Finishing shopping and actually getting everything wrapped with more than 24 hours until Christmas
• Getting the rest of our decorations up (except for some of the greenery, which I’m happy to live without this year)
• Keeping up with all the usual Mom things (umpteen trips to the grocery store, trying to wash most of the laundry, etc.); I even managed to cook real dinners a couple of nights
• Managing to get my “real job” stuff done and finish a project that’s been hanging over my head for weeks

Good grief! Am I writing this to try and look like Super Mom or the Consummate Holiday Hostess? No way. I’m writing to share the craziness I’ve been through in the last few days so you know that you’re not alone. Every year I hope to scale back on some things and try to simplify a bit. Every year I fail — although this year I’m counting the lack of greenery and bows as a victory. 🙂 Any suggestions for doing a better job of it next year are welcome!

Something else I know — it’s no wonder I was exhausted by the time Saturday rolled around. And it’s no wonder I’m in desperate need for some down time with my family and some quality one-on-one time with the One whose birth we’re celebrating. Finding those moments can be tough because of everything else going on, but I’m learning to snatch every one I can get. God nudged me toward some wonderful time together this morning before the kids got up and I’m craving it again for tomorrow. Let’s search for those chances and savor each one — and then make it a habit will carry long past Christmas.