I used to have my Christmas shopping completed by Halloween. I used to have my presents wrapped and in the closet the day after Thanksgiving feeling smug that my shopping was all done. I used to walk through the mall with no shopping to do and look at the stores and holiday displays of Santa and his reindeer, complete with polyester and shaved white wax for snow... just looking. I used to go to holiday parties and drink Jagermeister and beer, eat nachos and go to work on 4 hours of sleep. I used to sleep.
Now that I’ve got children, I don’t sleep for other reasons… ear infections, midnight feedings or untwisting those bazillion twist ties they use on toy packaging. I don’t feel smug that my shopping is done early, because it’s not. I don’t go to party’s during the season unless they are from 11am – 2pm and involve balloons. When I walk through the mall I have a baby in the front pack a toddler in a stroller, a bag of diapers, a bottle and a bag of goldfish crackers, a purse, a cell phone and most likely… no makeup on. But all in all I feel pretty good about trading the parties and lack of procrastination for footy pjs and stories about Santa. I laugh more at my toddler explaining to me over and over again, that “Christmas tree, RITE DARE!!!” as if I can’t see the large spruce that has taken residence in the living room, than I did at Jager laden holiday festivities. Now I actually look forward to the holidays, instead of dreading them. Now I understand how people can accidentally spend so much on their children, because it’s just so easy to keep buying and buying and buying when you actually have an excuse. Everyone talks about the blessing of seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child, but I don’t really see it that way. Instead I see Christmas through the eyes of a mom and that in itself is a whole world of wonder.
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