all photos courtesy of Pixabay photos
How many of us suffer from the annual Christmas Chaos? You know, the months and weeks before the most joyous time of the year?
The time of the year that everyone stresses about. The time of year where everyone is super busy, planning for the festive season.
The houses and yards need to be decorated. Need to buy extra lights for this year and perhaps a second tree?
Don’t forget the Christmas baking. Oodles and boodles of cookies need to be baked for office cookie exchanges, sweet, rich treats have to be baked for Christmas visitors. Christmas meal planning and guest lists have to be gone over.
Then shopping begins. Sometimes early but most of time last minute, in the week or days before the big event. You need a mountain of gifts for this year. The list just seems to grow exponentially every year.
Mom and Dad, in-laws and out-laws, Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents, cousins, brother, sisters, nieces and nephews, kids and grandkids, not to forget, the ones for your neighbours, the guy that does odd jobs during the year, the paper boy, the girl at your favourite coffee shop where you buy your coffee every morning, your co-workers, the gas jockey, the garbage man, the box boy at the supermarket, the kids teacher, maybe the dentist and the receptionist at the doctor’s office all need to remembered.
Oh, my! Did you leave any one off the list? No! Good. Time to start the wrapping frenzy. You know you bought extra paper at last years Boxing Day Sales, but where did you store them? Attic? Basement? Perhaps the garage? The storage locker? Found it!
Then comes the next dilemma. Every wants you to attend their Christmas dinner and will be greatly offended if you turn them down.
The first year that my husband and I were married, we ran smack dab into this wall. Little did we know just how difficult it would be in the weeks leading up to Christmas and just how long it takes to recover from the festivities!
Both families demanded equal time. Easier said than done. We lived almost in a central location between both families. 60 km in opposite directions.
Both my husband and I worked in the health care profession. My husband worked 8 hour shifts and I 12 hour shifts.
To complicate matters further, my hospital had a policy that the first two years you were married you shall be placed on opposite shifts! Someone in their infinite wisdom thought this was a good form of birth control!
So, that fist wonderful Christmas that we had been looking so forward to, was becoming Freddie’s Nightmare on Christmas!
My husband lucked out and had a a reasonable supervisor, so he was on day shift. I was not so lucky. I needed to beg, plead and almost crawl on my knees so I could get Christmas day off. For nine years running I had worked Christmas shifts so those co-workers with young children could have it off.
Nothing worked with this Scrooge. I ended up working 7 nights straight, remember these are 12 hour shifts, so that I could have Christmas Day off! This meant I would be getting off at 7 am on Christmas Day! So what was I complaining about. I had Christmas Day! Thanks ever so much…
Hubby picked me up after the night shift, we went home showered, changed and gulped a quick of coffee so we could begin the merry-go-round of Christmas cheer. First off to my Dad’s for early church service as a family, eat a breakfast to end all breakfasts and open gifts.
Then it was time to waddle out to the car. Hubby drove to the next destination in the round robin. I think I may have caught 20 winks since I don’t remember much of the drive. Probably should be grateful since the roads were slick with ice from a storm the night before and road crews were on holiday time.
We arrived at my Mother-in-laws just in time to sit down to a large Turkey dinner with all the trimmings. I was still stuffed from breakfast as my Dad felt we needed to be fed enough food to last us a week!
I certainly didn’t need more food. I needed my bed! But food we had. My Mother-in-law thought I was looking thin and pale, so piled the food high on my plate.
She felt that either I was sick or God forbid, pregnant! I am so glad that Teddy the Cocker Spaniel was my buddy. He certainly enjoyed his Christmas dinner!
Tried to stay awake long enough to be polite and then it was time to motor over to the Great Aunt’s house. “Nothing big or fancy” they said. Sigh.
Tables loaded to breaking point with all kinds of fancy sandwiches, cheese trays and sweets. Politely nibbled our way around the room, visiting and trying not to look to uncomfortable with the excess food we had already indulged in.
At 6pm it was time to head out to our forth round of festivities. Time to travel in the opposite direction another 60 km. It was snowing. The roads had been plowed and sanded so it wasn’t so bad on my husband.
I tried the 20 wink trick again but this time I was too full and bloated to get comfortable enough to sleep even though I could have used a log to hold up my eye lids.
My Aunt and Uncle had planned a beautiful ham dinner, with all the trimmings but by the time I sat down, my face was falling into the plate. I am sure dinner was wonderful and the conversation was stimulating, but I don’t remember too much of it.
I think we left the party earlier than I am sure my Aunt and Uncle would have liked, but at 9:30 I just could not keeps the old eyes open.
I don’t remember much of the ride home, but I do remember my handsome new husband tucking me into bed and kissing me goodnight...MERRY CHRISTMAS!