See You On The Freeway!

During the next two weeks, my attendance is requested at an 8th grade choir concert, a 6th grade orchestra concert, a holiday piano recital, an MMTA piano recital, and a 6th grade Christmas program. I will also be driving to four tennis lessons for the boys, two tennis lessons for the girl, two piano lessons, two violin lessons, two before-school choir rehearsals, and an after-school orchestra rehearsal. There is also a six-hour tennis clinic an hour away from home, the last-minute holiday shopping to get done, plus a fundraiser at the junior high. In addition, Doug will be out-of-town for two days, and working a shit load of hours on the days that he's in town.

Oh, and at some point my family would probably like to eat, and they will need clean socks.

Up until this month, my schedule has been pretty manageable because I usually only need to be in one place at one time, with one activity per night. But December is always busier because of the holiday-theme concerts, the Christmas parties, and 4,000 extra errands, all crammed into three-weeks. It definitely makes it difficult to sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds of the season. Unless, of course, the sights include my bangs stuck to my sweaty forehead as I schlep stuff to and from the car, and the sounds include phrases like: "Get your shoes on now and get in the car! It's your concert we're late for!" and "No. I do not have a snack for you because I'm not a vending machine."

I cannot imagine December without having to simultaneously shop, wrap, cook, occasionally pee, decorate, entertain, shower, bake cookies, clean, be merry, and drive kids around. Right now, though, I am strongly considering buying all of my cookies, letting the dust accumulate, faking a couple illnesses on concert nights, serving take-out on Christmas Eve, and spending my newfound time taste testing festive cocktails. Something tells me that I wouldn't enjoy the holidays any less. In fact, I might even enjoy them more.