In 364 more days, it will be Christmas all over again. The weeks (maybe even months) of anticipation for Christmas 2008 have come and gone all too quickly. The memory of a restless night of sleep has already started to fade. The leftovers sit in the refrigerator waiting to be thrown out with next week’s garbage. Oh, how I can’t wait to do it all again.
We all promised not to buy each other gifts (the adults that is) and yet, everyone had at least “a little something” under the tree. Audrey is thrilled with her Barbie and the Diamond Castle gals and couldn’t wait to test out her Swim To Me Puppy in the bathtub. She is ready to hit the driving range with her Papa this spring with her brand new golf clubs, real clubs, really nice clubs. She has new movies to watch, a new outfit for Spring, warm jammies to cuddle in, and a kid-size keyboard and mouse for the ‘puter. Her new table and chairs fit nicely into the playroom and the Polar Express train set was only a minor hit; she liked the “reindeer bell” that it came with much better.
We still have two more Christmas exchanges to get through and then it’s time to put the tree on the curb. If you just blow on it, the needles fall off in piles; thank goodness for the new canister vacuum we received as a gift!
We’ve hit the after-Christmas sales and picked up our cards and paper for next year as well as a couple more plastic storage bins to pack up the extra ornaments, lights, and garland we purchased this year. The lights outside will stay on until New Year’s Day, and when we get a warm day after that, we’ll be taking them down as well.
364 more days. Prior to that we’ll hit Valentine’s Day (Kmart already has cards if you’re so inclined), St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Independence Day, Audrey’s 4th Birthday, a start of a new school year, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. Only 363 days until TBS’ annual 24-hours of A Christmas Story starts again. Approximately 330 days until we start watching The Polar Express and Shrek the Halls on a near-daily basis again. Even less days until two Milwaukee radio stations start their “All Christmas Music All the Time” promotion again.
Yes, it won’t be too long until we start complaining about how Christmas comes earlier and earlier every year. It won’t be too long until we tell our children that Santa is watching so they better be good. It won’t be too long until we figure out who will have the best Black Friday deals and if we should wait until AFTER Christmas to get the best bargains. It won’t be too long before we almost forget what the season is supposed to be about and that when it’s over (too quickly as always) we’ll sit with a bit of sadness waiting for 364 more days to celebrate all over again.
