I was going to say screaming ball of crank, but that implies more energy than I currently possess.
Last night I got up out of bed to get an extra pillow. Needless to say, because I neglected to put my glasses on, I slipped on a wooden pulltoy and landed with my elbow, wrist and hip on the parquet floor. That shit hurts.
I wake up this morning, and check my email to find that the dollhouse family I ordered has been cancelled. Brilliant.
Then I check my other email to find that my FIL suggests we leave our house at 10AM on Christmas Day to come to his house. No freaking way, dude. I am not committing to getting a 4 year old her stocking, breakfast, and dressed for a visit by 10 in the morning. Do I sound a little scrooge-like?
So, here’s the real rundown. C is in the middle of finals, which has thrown a big ole monkeywrench in the holiday preparations. I have received in the post a grand total of 2 of the zillion things I ordered for presents. C’s birthday is Xmas Eve. What this means, roughly is this:
- Any presents that don’t arrive on time, folks are going to have to wait for because I can’t get out to shop before Saturday and I am not shopping two days before Xmas, sorry.
- Over the course of the week, we will have traipsed to a Hanukkah party in Manhattan, C’s birthday dinner in Jersey, Xmas Eve at the MIL’s, Xmas Day at the FIL’s in Jersey. Which means that my desire to create a holiday tradition for our family at our house? Sorry Jen. Nobody cares about that but you. Have fun with that.
- Since the computer is centrally located in our living room, the likelihood of getting the place cleaned up enough to take pictures of Lucy while she opens her stocking in the 45 minutes we have set aside to do that is like nil.
- My dreams of having a beautiful, festive, grown-up holiday wherein I am totally on top of everything and can sit back and enjoy the glories of the season or what-the-fuck-ever are pretty damn funny right now.
- I spend most of every morning this week wanting to cry because somehow it’s all my fault and I’m being punished for something and nobody cares and oh poor me and I think next comes really bad poetry about how dark and bleak the world is. Then I crown myself queen of drama and do the dishes.
I feel like the universe has reached out and melvined me and I just want to be jolly for a day, dammit.
Make people come to you. Really. You have a kid now, what’s their excuse?
Oh, and fuck cleaning.
We only have one kid, so the two-kidders trump us on 2 out of the 4
I hear ya, though. My darling husband set up the FIL thing after I mentioned that I thought he should come here and I am not pleased. It’s tough though because we have to travel to see my family in VA, so his has to get equal billing and with remarriage, his family is ginormous. I love all of them, but the travel thing is a right bitch.
I think I’m just going to vacuum a patch of the carpet and shovel everything off to the side for pics. There’a a positive–if folks were coming here, I’d have much more work to do
Two pckages on way to your house, priority, should be there in time.
I feel your pain however, it will all be fine as soon as your elbow resumes mobility so you can finish those dishes, oh, and don’t forget the laundry etc….
Then, when you are done with that, you can come to my house Xmas eve, clean mine between 9 and 11pm and get back home do santa, eat a cookie, drink a glass of milk, get Lucy up, stocking, fed, dressed and leave for Jersey!
Shit, you’re young, you’ll be fine!
I think it’s shitty that family is demanding you drag your little one away from her presents on Christmas Day at all, much less at 10 a.m. They’re doing similar to us. Hey — have you considered feigning illness?
Can’t, Mom. We’re at L’s til 8 on Xmas Eve
Eden, it is shitty, but since C volunteered us, I can only complain at him. Lucy has a cold so it may not be feigning after all
I’m sorry you have the same thing. The kicker is that C’s family never traveled anywhere for holidays when their kids were young. Makes me want to pop out another kid just so we can stay the hell home.
OOOH, now there’s an idea that will simplify your life………….’pop out another one’!
ah the joys of living 18 hours away from the relatives who are steaming piles of dung about shit. Any relatives near us come see us eventually, or we go to them eventually.
I’m a nazi about doing our own thing. My MIL nearly crapped when she heard that I let the girls open one present a night a few days before Xmas (I say the elves came early)-it creates our own family myth, and prevents gift overload. They appreciate what they get more that way.
I suppose a beautiful, festive, grown-up holiday like some sort of Kennedys-on-Cape-Cod with football games on the front lawn lightly dusted in snow with striped scarves and Mother making cocoa and serving 4 kinds of homemade cookies is just some sort of TV myth that is of limited value for comparing ourselves.
I do know that you managed to put together a package with gifts and custom ornaments and sweet treats for a family *really* struggling with the holidays this year after losing their beloved wife and mommy and having done that is about as beautiful, festive, and grown-up as it gets, in my opinion.
Glad the dollhouse came through. I did 80% of my shopping at Amazon this year. Hopefully it all gets to the 2 places we’re traveling (Charleston, SC and Chicago) by the time celebrations commence.
Do take the time to just be the 3 of you. It won’t be possible forever, so let the inlaws cope. Just what you needed, unsolicited advice about family, right?
[...] I started blogging more lately mostly to get the demons out from having lost Anna and to possibly connect with other people in my situation. I think it’s been its own reward. I enjoy writing. It gets me out of myself a bit. Little did I know that I would meet people as kind as Jen who, despite her own hectic, stressful holiday was so kind as to mail us a package of gifts, sweet treats, and custom ornaments. Talk about boosting my holiday spirit. We had guests for dinner, so I didn’t open the box until after they were in bed. They’ll get to open the presents in the morning. Thank you very much, Jen and C and Lucy. [...]
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