And Another One Goes Down In The Books

Another Christmas season is behind us and frankly, I'm tired. I love Christmas and all the festivities leading up to the big day but pulling it all off is a lot of work. There are cookie boxes to be made, a house to be decorated, dishes to be done, meals to be planned, shopped for and created. And then there are the gifts. Although we eschew the over commercialized nature of Christmas and instead purchase a few small gifts for Sidney on Santa's behalf, they still need to be wrapped and placed in stockings and under the tree. As is the case with most school children Sidney is in the midst of his winter break and because Glenn is attached to a NATO command that openly recognizes not a lot happens over the holidays, his entire office is closed as well. So they are both on vacation and home all day. Amidst all of the holiday preparations they've been playing, reading, watching movies and generally relaxing. Without playing chauffeur I too have had more time on my hands but the groceries still need to be bought, meals cooked and laundry done. And the list goes on.......

And once again it all came together this holiday season with Sidney declaring Santa making this "the best Christmas ever". I love how Santa gets all of the credit while his elves do all the work but in the end it doesn't matter because experiencing Christmas through Sidney's five year old eyes makes it all worth it. But this doesn't negate the fact that I am still tired. Very tired.

We're now in the midst of what has become a family holiday tradition of taking a trip over the holidays. Whether it be exploring Slovenia, Bavaria, Italy or now England, we've decided that creating a family memory is much more important than opening mass produced presents that will soon be forgotten. I truly love our family getaways and like the festivities leading up to Christmas, all of the work ahead of time is worth what we get out of them. Pictures will be taken and memories made and all too soon we will be back to the reality of our home and the never ending chores that go along with it. Mountains of vacation laundry will need to be overcome, more dishes to deal with, the refrigerator restocked, decorations will need to be carefully packed away and the tree, which is so much fun to put up and decorate will need to be dismantled and stowed until next year. And as I go about doing all of this I will once again dream about a holiday season filled with fun, festivities and relaxation.  Perhaps next year will be the year that meals are magically cooked and served, the house decorates itself and clothes don't get dirtied. (I can dream at least, right?). It will be something to look forward too and in will once again be here before we know it. Just think, there are only 333 days until Thanksgiving and the official kickoff of holiday season 2015!