LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING.
LAST-MINUTE SHIPPING PRICES.
LAST-MINUTE GIFT IDEAS.
LAST-MINUTE HOLIDAY RECIPE IDEAS.
LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING SOLUTIONS.
Those are some of the subjects I received in my email this morning.
It implies that the person (usually I) wasted all the time before that last minute and now he/she is rushing around like a crazy person trying to finish everything up and giving no personal thought to anything.
Can't they come up with a nicer word? A more positivie connotation? Something that doesn't imply 360 days of leisure and bon bons, and instead acknowledges teaching and driving (did you hear my 3-month old car has over 6500 miles on it already??) and grocery shopping and meetings and obligations and parenting and laundry and working and sewing and work parties and church and kid parties and just a teeny bit of laziness?
I feel so PRESSURED when I read those words. I feel like such a procrasinator. I feel like a failure in the great Martha Stewart clone contest. I am ALMOST done shopping. Almost. Just one or two little things to get. I made several gifts this year and knew what I wanted to buy for the others. Most cards are in the mail. All to-be-mailed gifts are on their way. There is a very sugary gingerbread house on my dining room table. And some gingerbread waiting to be frosted. I'm getting there....I'm just a little slower than others. And can I say a big "thank you" to Amazon Prime for their 2-day shipping?!
Today I am rebelling. Jammies all day, Christmas movies and popcorn, apple cider on the stove, and two boys home with me all day long.
Joshie took some pictures of our Christmas tree from underneath
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| Kurie is taking it easy this holiday season... |
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| packages last week waiting to be sent |
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| two cute little trees we made for our favorite piano teacher EVER. |
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| Both boys sang in the Christmas Cantata last Sunday |
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| Joshua and his best friend Jason sugared up themselves and everything around them while working on their gingerbread houses |
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| Joshua and I went to the Kennedy Center to see a play |
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| Dave was the ringmaster at the annual Boy Scout party and gift exchange. He's so awesome at that kind of thing. |
And on a final note, I feel the need to address the whole "saying Merry Christmas" thing. I don't know why, but I do. There has been a bit of a hullabaloo about stores and organizations not saying Merry Christmas anymore. Honestly, "Happy Holidays" does not bother me. I feel like even for Christians, with New Year's Eve the very next week, it is not inappropriate to wish someone well on both holidays. If a stranger says "Happy Holidays" to me I take it as a nice gesture. He/she doesn't know me. They don't know if I'm Christian or not and it is simply a polite greeting or farewell at this time of year. I don't assume they are trying to push their religion or lack of religion on me. I do say Merry Christmas to people. This time of year is about Christ for me and I definitely want to take the opportunity to let people know that. I also realize that many public places (schools, for example, I just learned from a friend today) are purposefully avoiding any mention of the Christian holiday while promoting other religions or non-religious celebrations. That's wrong and I encourage people to be a voice in their own communities and situations. But I also encourage "you" to be gracious in your meetings with others and assume the best rather than the worst in people. A "thank you" and "Merry Christmas to you" or yes, even, "Happy Holidays" is a good way of showing the love of the Savior whose birth we are celebrating this month.
God bless each one of you and Merry Christmas. :)
