Christmas Litany

We’re heading into the Christmas home stretch, and I’m beat. This is the part (it comes every year), when I’m beginning to think that perhaps I just won’t be able to do it. “It” being the shopping, cooking, cleaning, and wrapping that stretches ahead. I hear a Christmas song and think “Boy, how would it feel to have all these preparations complete and nothing left for me to do but eat home-baked cookies by our non-existent fireplace while sitting back and enjoying the music?” (Darn good, that’s how it would feel.) Then I wonder, “How did I get here again? How is it that Christmas is only four days away, and I still have all this crap to do? Can I get a do over?” Then I say to myself, “No, no do over. Let’s just get this madness over and finished.” And back and forth while I stoically wrap gifts, stuff the turkey, hand over my debit card for those last-minute items, clean the toilet, whatever.

Every year.

Help.