Exhale

It's time to take a big breath and exhale.  The whole holiday  hurrah gets to me, as I try to do everything:  find the perfect gifts, keep the house beautifully clean and decorated, bake everyone's favorite treats, all the while maintaining a festive attitude for an eleven-year-old who clings to the lovely idea of Santa Claus.  But the house of cards has fallen.  E. is sick today and my car has been in the shop all last week, so I've been housebound (think no more shopping), and the sudden drop in barometric pressure today has brought on another migraine.  So it's time to let things go.  I may not get my gifts custom-decorated like Martha does - perhaps they will just get plain-wrapped with a stick-on label.  I may not get 6 different kinds of cookies made - maybe just our favorite kind of fudge and sugar cookies will do.  And maybe the man of the house will have to pick up that last gift for me.  And seriously:  Once everyone arrives, (grandchildren especially), and starts ripping open gifts, nobody will notice whether I vacuumed or not :)

Take it easy on yourself this week!