On the 14th Day of Christmas

Why does time speed up after Halloween? Seriously, why? Is it just me or are the days flying by? Maybe it’s because there are fewer daylight hours? It’s colder? All I want to do is sleep? I don’t know, but I can’t believe Thanksgiving is Thursday and then – like the day after that – is Christmas.

We went and picked out our tree over the weekend. Hard to believe since it feels like Halloween was yesterday. It’ll be delivered Friday. Mean time I’ll be sorting through boxes in the basement and making lots of trips up and down the stairs with all the decorations and trimmings for this very festive time of year. Add into that, some inevitable trips to Hobby Lobby because – Christmas.

Last year we threw out a bunch of lights when we took the tree down, half of one strand had gone out and another strand had a questionable plug. Which means, on top of forking out almost $400 for a gigantic tree, we have to buy several strands of new lights. It’s been a number of years since I’ve replaced lights, so I guess it’s time, but holy cow, I thought I’d have more time to do that. And then there’s batteries. Another small fortune will be spent on batteries because, everything at Christmas must light up or it’s not a worthy decoration.

And, while I’ve been doing some shopping here and there, I’m still in need of a few gifts and there’s lots of wrapping and packages to ship, cards to write, envelopes to address, and the list goes on and on. I know these things happen every year, but for some unexplainable reason, I feel so far behind and harried this year. I know it’ll all come together but I sure wish I had a magic wand. I’m exhausted just thinking about the upcoming weeks.

Maybe it’s because in the first 10 days of December we have 2 dinner parties here at the inn and I’m hosting Thanksgiving for friends this year, and the tour boats are still coming into town, so at least once a week I have to give a house tour, which involves extra cleaning and the baking of cookies and brewing of tea. I wonder if I can make a game where the tour boat guests each wrap a package while I’m giving the tour. Hmmm.

I’m not complaining. I love this time of year. I love cooking a big Thanksgiving meal. I love sharing meals with friends. I love to see the twinkling lights and inhaling the spicy goodness that is Christmas. I just wish time would slow down a wee bit so I can catch my breath in between projects. But I recall what my mother sometimes said, “No rest for the wicked,” and put on my Cinderella persona and just keep plugging away.

How are you bracing for the holidays? Got any fun plans? Is your tree up yet? Any ideas for making time slow down a little bit?

I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Thanksgiving.

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Word of the Day: Navicert

Fun fact about me: I can never bring myself to put colored lights on the tree. I think about it every year and every year I put the white ones on.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, November 2022. Images by Google and giphy.com

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