My Norman Rockwell Christmas

It's three weeks away.

Christmas is three weeks away and like always, I have a “to do” list the length of my right arm.

(that saying always made me laugh. Is your left arm any shorter? Anyway, I digress.) 

I still have some work to do on the Christmas decorations, but I haven’t even checked if I had picked up Christmas cards from last year’s “After Christmas” sale. I have picked up the stamps: one point for me. The Christmas wish lists from my nieces and nephew have a pretty good dent in them, but there are a few odds and ends that needed attention. Before Christmas arrived, that is. 

Like everyone at this time of year, my lists are overly ambitious and my day is way too short. I won’t even expound on energy levels aggravated by the lack of sunshine.  I think you get the picture.

Despite what I said, I really do love this time of year. It’s fun and the anticipation of the day itself really hasn’t waned much for me. Up until probably the week before Christmas, most people are in a pretty good mood. I look forward to my kids coming home and all of us living under one roof again. With both of my kids away from home, I have the luxury of remembering how much fun we have together. The messy room is not staring me in the face when I walk down the hall and I don’t have to remind anyone that their bathroom needs to be cleaned. Every holiday is one more time that we can get together and remember the good things about each other.  That’s always a healthy thing. 

The thing I don’t like about the Christmas holidays is I always try to cram every Norman Rockwell thing I can think of into that one month (five weeks if you generously count Thanksgiving). I feel the pull of creating that storybook Christmas for my family and myself. Every year, I start out thinking this way. I create that wonderful scene in my mind even though I’m pretty sure that there are not a lot of families out there watching a Christmas movie every night and have plans with friends for every night of the week. I hope they’re not trying to make Christmas tree sugar cookies that look like a work of art for little Susie (or Johnny’s) Christmas party. None of us has the time these days. Yet, I always want to hang onto those 1950 artist-created images of what a holiday should be.  

From conversations with friends, I’ve found that most people are like me: staring at the calendar and trying to figure out when they can fit a Christmas visit with friends into their bulging schedule. We’ve each shared how we plan our time away from work so that we can squeeze in two hours to make those cookies because it is important to show someone you care that much. So I am making a humble attempt to relieve some of the stress out there this year.

Drop that Norman Rockwell image and try to go with the moment a bit more. I’m pretty sure that Norman Rockwell didn’t intend to add stress to a magical family season with his pictures. He was just trying to capture it. So let’s capture it for ourselves.

I’m not suggesting that you don’t make those superbly decorated Christmas tree cookies or that you don’t juggle your schedule to make the time to fit in the Christmas party. Everything can be good if the attitude fits the desire. When I start singing “You’re a mean one, Mister Grinch…”  instead of “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas…”  while I’m putting up my Christmas decorations,  I know it’s time for me to quit. 

Festive with fun is good. Festive with “…get out of my way I want to hang this last wreath”, is not.   

I am constantly reminding myself to spend the time on the things that matter and let the rest go. If I don’t have the time or the money to send Christmas cards this year, I’ll send Christmas email greetings to those people who really matter in my life. Reminding them I am thinking of them is important: how I do that is not. 

Watching a movie with my kids when we both find ourselves with time to spare while they are with us is great. Demanding that they make me the center of their holiday plans, is not. They have their own lives, now and my role as a parent is to respect that fact. It shouldn’t be a big deal if I meet with my friends for a Christmas get together before or after Christmas.  The important thing is to set aside the time. 

That’s what Christmas does for me. It reminds me of what is really important and what is just frosting on the cake. It’s great to have that reminder come around every year that says “slow down” think about what you’re doing. The Holidays always helps me bring things into focus.

I like the family activities, I like the fun and sometimes crazy schedule, but mostly I like the annual reminder: slow down, find time for the important stuff and leave the rest. 

I better end it here.

I have a half a day off and I have some Christmas shopping to catch up on.

I want to spend my evening with my husband: watching our favorite TV shows under a warm blanket and sharing a bowl of popcorn.

That’s what matters in my day right now!