That was my great big sigh of relief that Christmas is over.
I used to find the 27th a bit of a depressing day. Presents were all opened, gatherings were usually done, most of the yummy food had been eaten. There was nothing much to look forward to anymore. I have to say, though, this year I've changed my perspective. I love the 27th - the Christmas craziness is done, and now we can just relax. Carey is home for a few days, so this is what I've really been looking forward to. A few days together as a family, with nothing to do, nowhere to be. There's finally time to play with the new toys (I always hated it as a kid that we would get all these new toys for Christmas, and then be rushed out the door to a gathering or something, and we couldn't play with them). There's time to be lazy in the morning, or maybe take a nap in the afternoon. We can enjoy a few leftover Christmas treats without feeling the need to gorge ourselves with food. We can get the kids to bed at a reasonable time.
I need to find a way to "do" Christmas a bit differently, but I'm not sure how. This year was so crazy and hectic that I was sick a few days before Christmas (turns out "exhaustion" is actually a real thing, and not just a sickness that celebrities invent to cover up eating disorders/addictions!), Annika was a bit sick on Christmas day, and now both the kids are not feeling 100% today (coughing, a touch of fever). I have no doubt that 4 days of being out and about has contributed to that. However, as much as I dislike how crazy busy Christmas is, I don't want to miss out on anything! Christmas is often the only time that we get to see certain extended family members, so it would be a shame to miss those gatherings. I guess we'll see what next year, and the coming years, bring. Perhaps things will change. Perhaps we can find a way to celebrate Christmas that doesn't leave me sighing in relief once it's all over.
(By the way, I don't mean to sound like a Scrooge, or that I didn't enjoy Christmas at all - it was just a difficult time for me this year. However, there were some great moments, and some great photos that I'll try to share in the next few days.)
3 comments:
After a few Christmas seasons of chaos (one of them with 3 kids under 5!) and running from gathering to gathering and collapsing after we were given an unexpected surprised one year when Conrad's sister came out the weeked before Christmas (I think Christmas Day was on a Wednesday that year) and my sister could only get together the weekend after. That same year my mom's extended gathering was changed to another day as well. We unexpectedly had Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing day with just our little family and it was awesome. Since then, we have tried to save Christmas Day for ourselves and often Christmas Eve too. While I realize that this tradition is going to bite me in the bum years from now as my own kids will want to spend Christmas with their little family, for now it is so glorious to have uninterrupted time with just us and the kids. We usually stay in our jammies all day and make good use of our new gifts and games. For us, as busy people all other days of the year, I look forward to our Christmas day at home.
My Christmas experience was exactly the same this year. I could not have said it better myself. The kids were so exhausted after it all that Lillian was having night terrors and crazy tantrums. It was awful. It's been nice to have a few days of nothing where the kids and I can catch up on sleep. I do love Christmas but it sure is different with two little ones.
Yup. That's all I have to say. :)
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