I keep having this recurring dream.
I'm at Disneyland and am running from attraction to attraction. No matter how many days I am there, I always run out of time to fit in all of the rides. It's a stressful dream and I often wake up feeling a little exasperated that I didn't make it onto Indiana Jones or the Matterhorn.
Occasionally the location will change to a different amusement park like Cedar Point, but the theme is always the same. At the end of the day, no matter how fast I run, I just can't fit in all of rides.
The dream kind of feels like my life right now. Always running, never fitting in everything I want to accomplish.
Whoever wrote "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" must not have been a mother.
Let's be honest: holidays produce stress.
I've tried to simplify the "trimmings and wrappings" this year. No outside lights. No elaborate birthday party for Blake. Christmas cards that took me less that an hour to design. No homemade neighbor gifts. All Christmas presents ordered online.
And still, I have piles of clean laundry that have been sitting unfolded for five days and my average bedtime has been between 1 and 2am. In between work parties, church parties, preschool programs, Blake's birthday, gift buying, decorations, cards, teacher and neighbor appreciation, two trips only three weeks apart, preparation for the new year in Primary, and a new designing venture (more on that later), I feel like I'm on a merry-go-round and can't get off.
Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that I have the energy to put into the whirlwhind of the holiday season. And I've enjoyed soaking up plenty of moments dreaming about Santa and Rudolph with Blake, seeing Nash's eyes light up when he spots strings of Christmas lights, and experiencing the joy of giving to the less fortunate.
But I think I'm going to welcome January with open arms.
That's a lot to have on your plate. Just do what you have to, then do what you can. Primary is crazy, isn't it? We have 18 Sunbeams coming in next year!
ReplyDeleteI thought what you did for Blake's birthday was perfect. They don't expect much, unless they want what their older sibling got.
You're a superb lady. You'll get through this. Merry Christmas!
I feel the same way this year! I can't wait for January either! :)
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures of the boys in front of the lights. Nash is starting to look very grown up.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel. Every year I vow not to let it get stressful, but have failed to accomplish that feat yet. It's funny that you have that recurring dream. Some dreams are so hard to figure out the underlying message, but yours is pretty obvious. I have a recurring dream that I am still enrolled in my dance class that I took all through my school years, but that I haven't remembered to go in a long time. I dream that it's recital time and I don't know the dance at all.
Now that I think about it, I guess my dream message is pretty obvious too, and pretty similar to yours. Just another reason why we get along so well. We have one or two things in common I suppose. :)