Another kind of Christmas list
I don't know if it's in me to write a decent entry before Christmas. With all the stress of getting ready to leave for Nebraska and having everything at home done before I go, I don't have a lot of brain space left for creativity or introspection or reminiscing or anything really. I have a limited area, and deadlines just constrict it.
I keep talking about all I have to do, but I haven't really said what "all" is. So since I can't think of anything but this list of things, I'm going to write them all down. What fun!
#1 - School Holiday Parties - The first and biggest stressor is organizing the holiday party for Hammy's class. Since I was an idiot and agreed to be head homeroom mother, I already had to get it done, but now I have to get it done early and write clear enough instructions for someone else to run it. I also have to drop everything off at my volunteer's house. I still have to shop for the supplies to make the craft and pray I can get everything I need. I still have coordinating to do between moms to make sure everything gets where it's supposed to be. That means doing my least favorite thing of all� calling people. I also need to get a couple things to the head homeroom mother of Booie's class.
#2 - The Curtain - I promised to make a curtain for John's cousin many, many months ago. I bought the fabric way back then with plans of finishing this "really easy" curtain right away. I was reimbursed for the fabric. All I've done is wash and iron said fabric. This project will take me all of a half hour, but I keep putting it off. The guilt has condensed to a point where I won't be able to move much longer. Must finish curtain. Before Christmas.
#3 - Christmas Baking - There are certain holiday traditions which must occur, or I will not feel like it's really Christmas. One of those traditions is the making of sugar cookies, frosting them and having the kids decorate them. It's a must. It's one of the fondest memories I have of growing up, and I've managed to keep up the tradition, even the year I was sick the whole month of December. It's something we all look forward to.
#4 - The Tree - We don't have one yet. We need one. We need to decorate it. I need to rearrange the living room and remove some furniture because our house was not made to have more than two things at a time in any one room. Ok, so it's a little bigger than that, but not much. Still, it does require the removal of at least one table and a rearranging of what's left.
#5 - Get Beer - Now this might seem like frivolity, but we actually owe the same cousin who is expecting a curtain a case of beer. It's obviously bad to loan us things or expect us to do things for you. We actually owe only a half case of beer, but after two months, I think we owe a little beer interest.
#6 - Shop - Yeah, I'm not done yet. I at least have the massive amounts of nieces and nephews crossed off my list. Now it's a matter of a few younger cousins and my own kids. Online shopping has saved my ass. I do need to actually go out and get the craft stuff for the parties and the baking supplies and some regular food, so we aren't eating take-out every damn day like we have been.
#7 - Cards & Newsletter - I thought I was ahead of the game with this one, but then my newsletter plans didn't go like I wanted them to. Everything I wanted to do has had some kind of barrier thrown in the way. I couldn't find a disk for a program I was using. I couldn't find the right pictures. I'm doing a little photo collage with some captions instead of my usual goofy newsletter. Once I actually chain myself to the computer and stay off of Threeway Action, I might get it all done. Thank God for mail merge.
#8 - Wrap - All those gifts need something to cover them up, and since I bought a big bagful of nifty accessories to make them all pretty, I better do it. I'm surprisingly ahead of the game on this one and have some things wrapped already.
#9 - Laundry - I will have nothing to pack in my suitcase to wear if I don't get a move on with this one.
#10 - Pack - Presents, clothes, pictures, camera, makeup. Can't forget. Can't forget. Can't forget.
#11 - A List - If I don't make a list for John, I will come home to two filthy kids who haven't gone to school in two days and missed their parties. He's even more forgetful and disorganized than I am. Bad. Very, very bad.
If I thought harder, I'm sure I could come up with more to do, like clean my house, but those are all things that aren't necessities� at least to me. If we wake up Christmas morning, and the dining room table is covered in newspaper and cereal boxes and the coffee table is under a mountain of mail and magazines, it won't be the end of the world. We will just take strategic pictures. That I can manage. I cannot manage going naked to Nebraska or dealing with the guilt of looking at that curtain fabric one more time.
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One Year Ago Today:
