Blogger Michelle Bravo: "Christmas Anxiety"
I'm almost done but not quite. The anxiety of preparing the perfect meal in the perfect house with the perfect tree with the perfect ornaments -- followed by the perfect presents -- has settled in nicely. Did I buy enough for my kids? Do they both have the same number of presents? Did I get the big things that were on their list? And it goes it on. Christmas shopping definitely is not over until the day arrives. It never fails that just when you think you are finished, a new person comes to mind that deserves a present.
My table is set, my gifts are wrapped and I have gone to the grocery store three thousand times. I think I only have to go four hundred more times before Sunday, so I should be fine. The grocery stores are beginning to look like they do the day before the announcement of a snow storm -- everyone is crazed and the cashiers look grumpy. It's impossible to leave without spending three hundred dollars per visit. The fun never ends.
I went to my first cookie exchange the other night at a good friend's house. Her house was beautifully decorated and she had the largest tree that I have ever seen, indoors. Apparently this tree was small compared to their usual Christmas tree. I'm still trying to figure out how they decorated every angle of it and was thankful that my kids are happy with our large "artificial" tree. They don't consider a real one to be an option. I can't imagine why they think that. Do I not give the perception that I'm happy to put on my boots and go chop one down? Maybe next year -- but it's unlikely. I have enough to contend with watching my cat fly on the branches of my artificial tree.
The stress of making the perfect cookie has passed. There were over sixty women there with nine dozen cookies each, so the number of cookies to exchange was unimaginable. I do not enjoy baking, so the fact that I showed up with over 90 cookies in itself was a miracle. I left with nine dozen cookies that all looked delightful and tastier than mine. It really was a fun gathering with a lovely group of women all preparing to dive into the cookies after midnight. That was just my prediction.
So, as we round the bend and finish up all of our running around, let's be mindful of one truth: It really doesn't have to be perfect. Most of us want to spend time with the family and friends who truly make a difference in our lives. To me, the perfect holiday is taking care of the people that I love and being surrounded by them in the warmth of my home. It's being grateful for all the things that we have -- our health, our children, our families and friends. It is remembering all of those who have passed and appreciating the meaningful difference they have made in our lives. It is actually all very simple indeed.. xo
Michelle Bravo is a self-described "divorced and displaced city girl raising two kids alone on four acres in Fairfield County." She is a regular contributor to Hamlet Hub of Fairfield and maintains a Blog called "Suburban Adventure in Connecticut", which can be found at http://ciaobravo.blogspot.com