Thirteenth Day of Christmas

Somewhere between the 8th day of Christmas and the 13th, my Christmas plans were derailed. As a matter of fact, my Christmas spirit just picked up and left. How dare life step in and mess with my picture perfect interpretation of the holiday season like this? (I kid, kind of.)

This year is different in that we’re planning to be away for the holidays. Something we’ve never done before and will not likely ever do again. We’ve always said we wanted to do Disney at Christmas and waaaaay back in March we decided this would be the year. In March, it seemed like a really good idea. In fact, it has seemed like a really good idea up until this week.

This week however, brought the stress. I’ve been trying to desperately give everyone as much Christmas at home before we go, so that they don’t feel like they’re missing out. I fully decorated the house. I pulled out all the baking stops. We celebrated Christmas day with my parents on Sunday which meant being done Christmas shopping a full two weeks ahead of time. In the middle of all that the girls had a cheerleading competition out of town that meant more packing, unpacking and time away from my to-do list at home. It means I’ve had to wrap all of Santa’s gifts already and hide them in the RV. It’s meant packing us for our road trip, preparing food for the RV, stocking the house with food for our house guests and making sure that everything in the house is in tip top shape so nothing breaks down on them while we’re away. Because frankly, I don’t want a call mid-vacation saying our furnace broke down. At the same time, my husband has also been changing tires, putting new brakes on and preparing our RV for our trip. Then there’s all that other unpleasant stuff like housecleaning, meals, homework, and perhaps the ultimate affront, work *gasp*.

It’s been difficult to find time to chill and enjoy the season. And yet as I type this pathetic rant out the hilarity of my “middle-class” problems is getting funnier with every word I type. Because it’s ABSOLUTELY ridiculous that I’m even complaining about this. Right? (Totally rhetorical, no need to answer.)

So, on the 13th day of Christmas, when I thought I had lost my Christmas mojo, it was found again, as I typed out a stupid rant and found my perspective again. So I went and elfed myself and my family because that’s always good for a laugh. Only 12 days until Christmas!