Im almost done but not quite. The anxiety of preparing the perfect meal in the perfect house with the perfect tree with the perfect ornaments- followed by the perfect presents has settled in nicely. Did I buy enough for my kids, do they both have the same number of presents, did I get the big things that were on their list, and it goes it on. Christmas Shopping definitely is not over until the day arrives. It never fails that just when you think you are finished, a new person comes to mind that deserves a present.
My table is set, my gifts are wrapped and I have gone to the grocery store three thousand times. I think I only have to go four hundred more times before Sunday so I should be fine. The grocery stores are beginning to look like they do the day before the announcement of a snow storm, everyone is crazed and the cashiers look grumpy. It's impossible to leave without spending three hundred dollars per visit. The fun never ends.
I went to my first cookie exchange the other night at a good friends house. Her house was beautifully decorated and she had the largest tree that I have ever seen-indoors. Apparently this tree was small compared to their usual Christmas tree. Im still trying to figure out how they decorated every angle of it and was thankful that my kids are happy with our large "artificial" tree. They don't consider a real one to be an option, I can't imagine why they think that. Do I not give the perception that Im happy to put on my boots and go chop one down- maybe next year- - but it's unlikely. I have enough to contend with watching my cat fly on the branches of my artificial tree.
