Christmas is Over!

You can probably tell by the title of the post that I'm kind of glad Christmas is over. I love giving gifts to my family and friends and I try to make them personal. But all of the other stuff that goes with it is such a pain..getting everthing wrapped, making sure we've got the right gifts for the right trip, etc.

This year's Christmas was in three locations, as it has been for the last several years. We spent Christmas Eve Eve with my brother's family and my father and his fiance. Because we had to be at our church all day on Christmas Eve and my SIL wanted to spend Christmas Eve at her church, we came home that evening. Christmas Eve was at church from 9:30 AM until 12:30 AM after four services. Then on Christmas Day, we went to the in-laws in yet another town. A lot of driving, a lot of eating, a lot of stress. I'm glad it's over and I'm back at work.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy, I was very glad to see all of my family. I just wish it could all be at our house once in a while. But this does make it all worth it:

It's Almost Christmas

During this time of year, it's difficult to be a working mother and provide and interesting Christmas experience for both myself and my family. Since we've started going to church, my committment to Christmas waxes and wanes like the phases of the moon. Some years I am more spiritually aware than other years. This year the spirituallity is waning because of outside committments to work. I've been at this job for nearly a year and it's my first Christmas season at this company. The holiday spirit is definitely evident at work. Many of my co-workers gave gifts, which was totally unexpected for me because that has never happened before.

We head out tonight for the annual round of Christmas visits. Some day I hope to have a whole holiday weekend at home with my family coming to us, but that won't happen any time soon. The house is too small and too cluttered. There isn't room to put up the big tree and my expectations for how I want things to look and feel are too high. Some day...