Christmas, When All Through the House

At our home, we consider ourselves to be done with Christmas preparations.

We kept our gift shopping low-key this year. Might be a good thing as it turns out our 1999 auto has decided it too needs a holiday gift!  A big one. In the form of a new manifold. We'll wait until after Christmas on that one.

The joy of communication is big for us this time of year.  We've have friends from the different places we've lived, that we like to stay in touch with.   I let most of them know about DH's job changes, this fall, when I could  enjoy in-depth communications. That allowed me to write a winter poem instead and for DH and I to write quirky (short) notes as we've felt moved.  The last package was sent yesterday, and sugar and maple cookies were baked before bed last night. 

A few communications will wait until New Year's. Some I want to savor. I could do without fooey-ness from the FOO.  (Family of origin.)  I'm "holding"  the usual package to my parents until New Year's.  My snarky mom is not answering phone calls from the outside world. We may not talk after all; could that be a blessing?  

You might say we started our decorating late.  Our tree arrived two days ago. But this is a little early when you consider my German mom's tradition is to "bring in the sheaves," on Christmas eve. Our Fraser Fir got decked yesterday, when  a friend of ours came by for coffee and stayed to put up our lights and at least half of our eclectic ornaments. Outside, DH seized the sunny day to put up the kitschy wreaths on the windows.

Is there an effective shopping gene anywhere in our family of three? One of us admently does NOT shop on sale. DH told me last night that his part of Santa had used up all the wrapping paper.  Huh? Of course,later  on when I was allowed in the "shop;" it  turned out there was plenty of wrapping paper left!  But I had sent DH off to Michael's where he paid top dollar for wrapping paper.  Now we WILL have plenty to take with us to our new home, should we move.  ;)   

This morning, DH and I could not help ourselves and saved a wee bit of last minute shopping, just for the fun of it. Alas,  grocery list was incomplete. Oh well. We will not worry about the missing ingredients for Christmas dinner. 

Just as the sun set, we had a lovely dinner of peanut soup with homemade bread. Full-bellied, we dashed off to a traditional Christmas candlelight service. All that remains now a few stockings to fill, and  the messy house (I seem to have lost my motivation to deal with that).

Just focusing on me, it is going to be enough of a challenge to refrain from expectations tomorrow, Christmas.  The little girl inside me seems to crave something that is missing from my life, despite all the forgiveness I've practiced this month!  Somewhere deep in the cerebellum those unmet expectations of childhood await.  

One day, we might take a hiatus from Christmas, other than visiting with good friends, and that little girl will let go.    For now, let me continue to enjoy this one day, accept the mess in my house and those last niggling things on my list that might be best left undone.