December 1st marks the day when “doing it all” takes on a whole new meaning for most of us. It also marks the day that my Christmas eye twitch returns while I plot out the most efficient course to navigate my way through holiday shopping, school parties and entertaining. It’s because today is the day I begin to really wonder if I am actually as prepared and organized enough to handle the next 24 days ahead as I thought. On November 30th, I am confident that I am well prepared; but inevitably December 1st comes, as if the separation of 24 hours were more like months, and I flip the calendar page and think, all of this in only 25 days?
As I’m sitting here at my desk calendaring each event: Christmas photos, school parties, social parties, 2 charity events, Christmas cards, teacher gifts and entertaining; my four-year old daughter whom I love to call, “Princess Anne” enters. I am engrossed in planning and organizing in order to ensure my holly jolly Christmas while Princess Anne decides that I need a snack. The first snack is two pieces of bread covered in sugar sprinkles with a heart-shaped lollipop that says, “HUG ME’ on it. Here’s my holly jolly right here in front of me….and 24 days early. My eye twitch disappears as she brings me next, tootsie-roll lollipops soaking in a bowl full of water, then a small plate of Kit-Kats topped with blue sugar sprinkles, followed by mixed nuts with cut-up American cheese and a cup of apple juice.
I thank her and give her a big hug. As she turns to leave (after waiting to make sure that I take bites of each snack, of course), she says, “and don’t worry about the mess in the kitchen, Mommy.” I wait for a moment to see if my eye twitch returns. Nope.
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