It’s a pretty terrible feeling when you realize that you’ve waited too long to order your Christmas gifts and even with the beloved Amazon Prime account you still won’t be able to have all your gifts delivered in time. How has this month gone by so fast already?! I’ve still got so much to get done before Christmas that I’m running around like a chicken with its head cut-off and today I started to feel a bah-humbug attitude creeping in. As I looked at my insane piles of unread emails, text messages, and voicemails waiting for me to get to them and I thought about all the Christmas shopping I still need to do and the holiday parties we are supposed to attend I just about broke down in tears of frustration tonight… then I saw this poem someone gave me years ago about the month of December and it reminded me of what matters most this month:
Tis The Month Before Christmas
Tis the month before Christmas, we’re all going nuts;
With so much to do, there’s no ifs, ands or buts.
Buy presents, hang tree lights, pop cards in the mail,
Send gift packs, thread popcorn, find turkeys on sale.
Decorations need stringing up all through the house.
And you haven’t a clue what to buy for your spouse.
School concerts, receptions, open houses with friends,
Long lineups, short tempers, tying up the loose ends.
With all our mad dashing, we’re reeling from shock;
Let’s stop for a minute and really take stock.
It’s crassly commercial, the cynical say;
If that’s true, that our fault-it’s us and not they.
Take time for yourself-though hard as that seems—
Enjoy your kids’ laughter, excitement and dreams.
Take a moment out now, don’t get overly riled,
Instead make an angel in snow with your child.
The shortbread can wait, and so can the tree;
What’s important to feel is a child’s sense of glee.
The holidays aren’t about push, rush and shove;
They’re for friendship and sharing and family love.
Hear the bells, feel the warmth, light up with the glow
Of a message first sent to us so long ago:
Peace, love and goodwill, and hope burning bright.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
– unknown
I may be behind on a million things, but there are only 11 days left until Christmas and I am not going to let them end up being consumed by emails and texts and voice messages. I’ve decided that some things are just going to have to wait until I’ve had a few moment to enjoy friendship and sharing and family love these next two weeks. No more bah-humbug attitude for me – it’s time I started celebrating Christmas! 🙂
~Amy Rees Anderson
