It is officially within arm’s
reach of Christmas and it sure doesn’t feel like it. It is currently 57 degrees
and really no change in site. I wish I were in the Christmas spirit. I wish I were
shitting tinsel and caroling at the top of my lungs. Our Elf on the Shelf,
Buddy is an undiagnosed narcoleptic and has been in the same spot for days. I wish I were making homemade hot chocolate,
cookies, and crap like that. Instead I am paying bills online and trying to
keep the peace in my region. When I say region, I mean the 900 square feet that
I call home.
I know how
stressful the holidays can be and my house is no exception. How is a clean
kitchen with a wiped counter some form of signal that everyone wants a
sandwich? Why will you set a dish in the sink instead of the empty dishwasher?
Does everyone know that the clothes go IN the hamper? The silver handle flushes
the dirty toilet water down and replaces it?
These are some of the simple
things that I begin to ask myself when the children are home for an extended
time. I must have failed as a parent, as my children seem to have missed these
lessons. How can this be? I have had these children since birth and have
diligently tried to prepare these children for the real, adult world. Instead
of worrying about what the fox says, we should be worrying about what mama
says.
These “breaks” are simply
breaks in our routine, as the stress level in my house is exponentially
increased as more and more of my children are home. They do not respect each
other’s boundaries, limits, or even personal space. They try a little harder
when I am looking them dead in the eye, but generally have nothing for each
other.
Cooper has had a really hard time as his ADHD
has been full on in part of the schedule change from his regular school days.
He is the only person who
still breakdances. Bless his hyperactive
little heart, he is currently on the couch next to me doing sit ups, upside
down. Yeah, he’s pretty bad right now. I love all of them so much and see the
whole picture. I see their lives now and hope that I can teach them about
important things in life before I shove them from my home labeled as adults.
Wyatt has been at my mother’s
house since yesterday. We all met up and went to my nephew Pierson Dane’s
birthday party at McDonalds (seemed similar to Dante’s 7th level of
Hell). Mama ask if he could come home with her to help wrap presents. Of course
he wants to go, to get away from the circus. Plus, that eliminates one
contender for me in the fight brackets. Thus increasing my odds of winning the
prize!
It must be the added stress of
the holidays that make the small things in life so much bigger. My children argue
and fight, the house is messy, and I ALWAYS have to ask for the trash to be
taken out. Nothing changes except the expectations we put on ourselves to make
the holidays what we “think” they should be. I mean no one wants to run out of
toilet paper on Christmas but, shit happens.
As the holiday approaches,
loosen up. Make fun and laughter more of a priority. Who cares if Cooper is
doing chin ups while singing the Jingle Bells. There is always something to do,
sometimes just slowing down and doing the little things make the biggest
memories.
I am trying very hard to just
relax and let it be. The children are doing what they do. They aren’t mature
yet, we shouldn’t expect them to be or make the “right” decision. Although some
I think should go without saying (flushing for example). I will have a hard
time taking my own advice, and I promise I will move the damn elf tonight.
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