Picking Daisies: The Christmas Rush… The Struggles are Real!

Where did I put the tape? It was here just a second ago. Oh, there it is.

Now for a bow…. Red? No, maybe Green? This is when I encounter the ultimate frustration in gift wrapping: the paper on top of the stick-em on the back of those bows. I try each corner, hoping to find the magic one that lets me peel it off instead of separating the layers of paper itself, and wonder why some genius… or elf… or someone hasn’t invented an easier way to do this. Finally…. I congratulate myself for accomplishing the impossible, and stick the bow to the package… I frown as I notice that it’s not going to stick. Need some tape. Wait, where did I put it? Oh well, I’ll open another dispenser.

Looking left, right and underneath the wrapping paper scattered all around, I see that I’ve lost the scissors….. again! I’m certain that the exhaustion from wrapping gifts isn’t the actual wrapping itself, but the twisting and turning you have to do each time you need tape, scissors, ribbon, or gift tags.

List After List...

The struggles are real this time of year. Hurrying to get that last minute shopping done… wrapping the gifts, and double-checking to make sure you didn’t forget someone in the rush… trying to find the scissors (again), when you just had them less than five minutes ago. Checking list after list to make sure menus are prepared, gifts have been bought or made, and schedules are all worked out so that no one has to be two places at once.

The tree is all decorated, the gifts have been purchased…. You and the UPS guy are on a first name basis nowadays as he delivers all your online purchases. The menu has been planned, the groceries bought… candies and cookies and cakes are beginning to be baked, cooked, and otherwise prepared. One more stop at the grocery store should get all those items that you were sure you got last time but can’t seem to find. Decorative boxes and bows are stacked on the table, waiting their turn at creating the perfect present for under the tree. What was once excitement for Christmas to come has become an unending To-Do List of things to get done before The Big Day. The struggles are real!!!

"How many sleeps til Christmas?"

When we were kids, this was the time of year when we could no longer sleep at night. Those “visions of sugar plums”? Not so much! It was more “visions of Santa’s toyshop” really. Everyday we’d ask Mom and Dad how many sleeps left before Santa came. Dad seemed to love the excitement, getting us kids all worked up before the big day with his teasing and joking around. Christmas morning was his favorite time to get us all worked up one last time, as he made us go back to our rooms to get slippers, house robe, etc. before we’d be allowed down the hall and into the living room where the tree was, along with the surprises from Santa. Our Christmas stockings would be laid out in front of the gifts, and it always always had an orange in the toe of the sock. I never was sure why, but carried that tradition on down to my children. There was the usual fare of nuts, fruits, and candies to fill the rest of it up.

Christmas was a “nothing but fun” time when we were kids. Grandmother and Granddaddy would come over for breakfast that morning, then afterward Granddaddy and Dad would help us assemble anything that needed assembling from our Christmas toys. Later that afternoon, all the aunts, uncles and cousins gathered at Grandmother and Granddaddy’s house for a big meal and gift exchange. Rare was the Christmas when someone didn’t get a joke present that someone had skillfully crafted. Fun, laughter, and love was the theme of the day… with all us kids leaving exhausted at the end of the evening.

"Thank You" & "I Love You" Gifts

Today, we’re the planners of those gatherings instead of the children running around laughing and playing…. But it’s no less fun. Family comes in from all across the country. We see friends we haven’t seen for years. We eat far too much food, and indulge in far too many sweets. But it’s worth it! Every bit of it!! It’s our way of punctuating the year…. Putting a period on the end of a sentence that has lasted all year long. It’s a time of love and laughter and celebrating… It’s a time for church and remembering the reason we celebrate… It’s a time for saying “Thank You” to those around us, to those we love, and to those we work with…

Yes, the struggles are real, as we prepare for such a big celebration, but the rewards are always more than we can ever imagine. It’s all worth the effort!!