I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas. Where did the year go? Part of me is thinking “I just want to chuck it all and move to Mexico”, but the rest of me is trying to take stock of accomplishments. I will revisit that thought later as I have SO much to get done in the next few days.
Getting Ready for my Kiddos
Ya’ll, I am so excited because our son and his family are coming for Christmas! This is their first trip up since we moved to New York, and I want everything to be great. A little snow, but not too much since I don’t want our daughter-in-law to freeze – she’s an Arizona girl. And the holidays are a perfect time to visit central New York, since our town does a Dickens thing for the whole month.
We have a whole list of activities – hiking to waterfalls, riding indoor electric go-carts, engaging with Scrooge and the other Dickens characters roaming the streets, visiting our favorite restaurants, and exploring the area.
Last year I didn’t decorate much, since it was just the two of us, but this year, since the Grand is going to be here, I had to do a little something. I put up a small tree and decorated the mantle but am on hold for the dining room because we had some ceiling repairs that needed to be done and we are still waiting.
Hopefully it will get done and I can finish decorating and stop stressing about this.
On the bright side, since I couldn’t finish decorating, I got all my annual baking/candy-making done and everyone’s treats are in the mail. I also was kind to myself and kept my Christmas shopping to a minimum this year. Of course, it was helpful that I bought many of the gifts while I was in Ireland, so not as much racing around, trying to find the perfect thing.
Unexpected trip to Texas
This was really good, because it turned out that I ended up spending several days in Texas the week after Thanksgiving because my mom was having surgery.
She came through it fine, has had a couple of setbacks, but is on track for a full recovery. I am thankful that she will soon be back to her usual self.
The upside of my trip was that I was able to do the baking/candy making for my sisters while I was in Texas, so I got to save on postage while spending quality time with my mom. Win-Win!
Sneaking off to Canada
Between Ireland and Thanksgiving, the Hubby and I snuck off to Picton, Canada for a long weekend. It was beautiful, but chilly. I didn’t take many pictures, but it was nice to just escape with the love of my life for a weekend.
Stressing Myself Out
Now, a few weeks later, I am rushing around like a headless chicken! The house, the gifts, the decorations, the food. And honestly? This is all on me. Our son, daughter-in-law, and grandson don’t care about anything but being with us. Which makes my heart so happy that we are enough. However, I am a southern girl of a certain age who knows there are expectations (who’s expectations is a mystery) to be met.
And on top of all of these self-induced stresses, there have been real work-related stresses, plus all the holiday obligations. We had 6 “must” events in the past 9 days and I am exhausted from being “ON” all the time the past two weeks.
Speaking of being on, I just noticed the time, so I will close this for the evening. My contractor just texted he will be here at 8 am to finish the dining room ceiling. I will keep you posted.