THE FINALE
A beacon of hope…The mighty noble fir.
On the 11th & 12th days of chaos….
Facebook Post:
It’s the final stretch friends! We can do this! Christmas is almost here!
Reality Check:
Happy Festivus! We are happy to report that we have not been taken hostage by the children and my husband and I are both still alive. Not necessarily well.. but alive. No, not true. We are fine but the sarcasm is getting us through and we can see the light at the end of the Christmas 2019 tunnel.
The past two days have been a blur. A non-stop marathon of last minute to-do’s and preparations but here are the highlights…
Larry got kicked in the face by Chucky who knocked one of Larry’s wires loose on his braces. Cue the urgent orthodontist appointment. Considering the upcoming holidays and the fact that normal business hours are Monday – Thursday and a minute and a half every third Friday of the month – you can bet I was on the phone at 7am when they opened getting him a repair appointment today.
Hosted our very fun neighbors for brunch. They employed their very best tactics to wear our children down and all I had to do was make them crepes and frittata. It’s the best deal in town. They even rolled with it when Chucky choked on his hot chocolate and spit it across the breakfast table and all over himself. They are the friends that “get it.” And by “it” I mean that kids are gross. Fingers crossed that the “Shanahan Wear Down” (trademark pending) plus the flannel sheets keep our kids in bed until the sun rises tomorrow which I hear is not until 7:54 a.m. A girl can dream can’t she?
Chatted with my sister Brenda (and fellow dog mom) as we both were driving our respective dogs to the veterinarian offices simultaneously today to squeeze in urgent appointments before they closed for the holidays. As it turned out, both conditions were minor although the bills were likely not. Both pups are competing for “who cost our family more this year” but we love them and would do anything for these two. The joy and love they bring to us priceless right?
Realized I started all this with the intention to finish with the 12th day on Christmas Eve. Clearly the accounting major miscalculated since I am on day 12 today and not tomorrow. Can I still blame “Mom Brain” even though my kids are no longer infants and are now 5 and 8? Maybe this was done subconsciously since today is officially Festivus and I am airing my grievances on Facebook? I’m just glad that career in audit didn’t last and I switched to event management. I may not have done the math right but I threw a heck of a brunch this morning.
Commiserated with several friends over text about the holiday madness. One friend and I joked that we look as terrible as we feel this week. We are both dealing with breakouts, illnesses, needing to finish this or that, work stress, life stress, etc. But we both agreed that everything that we are stressing ourselves out to get done for our kids at Christmas will not last forever. Just this week Larry had a friend that told him Santa doesn’t exist (cancel that playdate!) so our days are numbered for him to believe. My friend is staying up late and losing sleep to get presents from Santa wrapped because she enjoys watching her daughter unwrap them so much. This is why we do these things - because the magic will run out some day. Saying no is always an option but adding magic seems to always outweigh that urge. Although neither of us was feeling very magical today but I digress…
The point of all this that I have been rambling on about for the last 12 days is three things… one, find the humor in the chaos. It will help to laugh or at the very least go back and laugh at it someday. Two, I go back to my original thoughts and that quote from Mr. Rogers. Life is hard and no life is free from pain. But I will go one step farther. The holidays can be even more hard and painful than everyday life for so many. They add a level of chaos that can be OVERWHELMING. It’s a time that we miss those we’ve lost. It’s a time that we feel stress for days on end to get it all done, to feel like you are falling short, to have so many people making demands of you or have no one at all. Every situation is different and shouldn’t be judged. We are all just hanging by a thread so show some grace. Maybe that is why the new year feels so good.. it’s a renewal, a rebirth, a chance to push the reset button. Lastly, this was not a rant. This was not a call for help or me looking for pity or sympathy. This is just what’s happening in real time but I am not complaining just sharing. I hope that what I shared made you laugh, nod your head, or feel a little bit better that your day wasn’t as crazy or was just as crazy and you can relate to someone else about it. I don’t always share everything in my life but I thought this might be a good time to do so. Remember, just because it looks one way on Facebook doesn’t mean it’s like that in real life.
The moral of the story is we need to all find the bright spots when we can and when we can’t – remember that tomorrow is a new day and the choice to make a change. Find your village and hang on to it. We only get to do this once people so do it right!
Cheers & Happy Holidays Everyone!
P.S. I still haven't forgiven the lunch lady. Maybe in 2020.