I'm Scrooged!!

It’s early morning. My household's sleeping, and I, in my pj’s, snuggle under a quilt and write this blog entry by the glowing lights of the Christmas tree. Outside the snow falls peacefully, blanketing the ground.

And all I can say is, thank goodness.

I need another dusting of white snow. I need the Christmas lights. I need the quiet. Because, here it is, exactly one week before Christmas day and I have yet to be touched by the holiday spirit. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas to me.

Between facing the crowds in big department stores, the rush to purchase that “one last gift,” still needing to mail out Christmas cards, finishing up school projects, and the unexpected glitches that life sometimes tosses our way—I’m Scrooged. I am.

What do I want this year for Christmas? At this exact moment at 7:02 am, all I want is peace and happiness. That’s not too much to ask, is it? Just peace of mind and happiness for all. Santa, I’ve been good this year, I swear . . . Okay, maybe I’ve been a little bad, but that’s what makes me interesting . . . but still Santa, please send some peace and happiness my way. Lay your magic on me, baby.

I have one week to find the holiday spirit, and by golly, I’m going to find it too—ain’t nothin’ gonna stop me either. And I have a plan . . .

I will fill our home with the sounds of Christmas—music, laughter (this one will be a little hard to pull off—don’t look at him, don’t breathe her air, don’t touch each other), and old Christmas movies. I will read a Christmas book each night to my children, like in the tradition of years past and of which, somehow, has been cast aside this particular year.  I will even fill the house with the smells of Christmas . . . Oh, I bet you thought I was going to say by baking right? Well, you’re sorta right . . . by encouraging my bread-making husband to bake bread and oatmeal cookies. I will burn fragrant candles as well. (Sorry, that’s all I got for the Christmas smells section. Baking is not my thing). I will snuggle with my children. I will remind them of the true meaning of Christmas. I will wear a holiday sweater—okay, I don’t have a holiday sweater, but I would wear it if I had one. I will wear red and green in a combo effort to feel cheery, how’s that?

And in the midst of that goodness, how can I not feel the Christmas spirit, right?  How can I not find the peace I’m looking for?

I refuse to let this holiday season slip by without having fully enjoyed it. That would be horrible and unfair. This is supposed to be a wonderful time of year, a beautiful time of year, and I want to be fully immersed in it. And I plan to, too.

So beware, I may start singing carols and start wearing little tree ornaments from my ears (holiday earrings in case you weren’t certain what that meant), because I’m taking back my Christmas, and I will do what I have to, to do it too.

Merry Christmas everyone . . . fa, la,la,la,la . . . la,la,la,la (insert raspberry sound here).

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