- Joined
- May 3, 2001
- Messages
- 7,516
It seems I go through this in one way or another every year.
Life gets unbelievably busy every year starting in Late October and builds to a fever frenzy by mid December. It's always something. One year horrible storms messed up shipping and we "ruined" several Christmases for clients who did not care that it was the fault of weather and both FedEx and UPS deciding that the lives of their pilots were more important than trying to deliver their gifts on time. (To be fair, most of the clients fully understood and were very happy when their tardy gifts were delivered, they just were not the ones making all the noise.)
Let's not forget those that do not order that custom ring until the deadline for shipping is only seven to ten working days away, and we normally take at least two full weeks even for a simple job so that we can do quality control during the time frame. This year we had three that called or emailed with five working days left.
By the time the last week arrives I am in the depth of my annual throes of how much I hate Christmas, especially when my beleaguered wife gets home and asks me if she should just go ahead and do all the shopping or have I even thought of it yet? Since I am working ten to twelve hours per day, you know the answer I give and the angst that engenders.
Then at last, Christmas Eve is here. I have delivered all that is going to be delivered and am usually ready to leave the office by noon or one at at the latest. I have talked with those that are going to get their gifts late, thankfully none most years, including this year. I have watched the tracking numbers of those who are to get their packages and checked them all off as delivered, ahhh!
This year, my Christmas funk started to lift on Sunday evening when my daughter and her husband and my granddaughter arrived. It was to be the beginning of a week filled with family and children playing together when my son's three kids gathered round Ellie Lou and vied for her attention. (She is only 19 months old and cuter than can be.)
Finally, yesterday, I finished writing checks, making deposits and checking off my list of delivered packages and the weight of responsibility left my shoulders. I suddenly felt renewed and gave myself over to making Christmas Eve dinner. I gave the kitchen a quick organizing, taking all of my clutter off the kitchen table and then cleaning also the dining room table. (There is a LOT of excess paper now on the guest room bed!) I put the extra leaf in the living room table and turned on the Christmas tree lights.
Next I put in a large prime rib roast to cook and cleaned out the dishwasher and loaded the morning's dishes in. I shelled the shrimp I cooked the night before and cut up some smoked duck breast into bite sized pieces and made shrimp dipping sauce, both with and without spicing for those who like to eat their shrimp without the sudden burning thrill of my heavy handed spicing. While I was making the sweet hot mustard for the duck my wife arrived home from her work and set the table cloth on the dining room table and then got out the fine china. Soon all was ready for the arrival of our family, which lacked only a couple of hours during which the house would take on the wonderful promise of unearthly joy and the smell of cooking prime rib.
Resa opted for a quick nap while I noodled about making everything more perfect, way too excited to sleep. Soon I filled a glass with champagne and was just starting down the stairs to wake Resa when up she came looking like a dream in an incredible black and white blouse that looked like something out of heaven's own closet. We sat and sipped and I got a crink in my neck from constantly looking out the window to catch site of my families arriving. It was raining and yucky and I had a huge umbrella that one of my suppliers had sent me for Christmas and I wanted to run down and offer a dry escort service from driveway to front porch.
Finally they were there and then all to quickly, after an incredible evening of fun and laughter and the children all opening one gift, they were gone leaving Resa and I for a short hour before we went to sleep to wait for Christmas morning. Did I mention that everyone of the adults and two of the children pitched in on clean up and it was done in an unbelievably short time?
We woke to the snow that had been falling when the children left still being on the ground and drove to my son's house where we shared Christmas morning, all of the gift opening, and a wonderful brunch. (Wisely served on paper plates. Now THAT! is the way to shorten clean up.)
More laughter, more hugs, more smiles, and in a few more hours Resa and I will go back for yet another full family dinner.
Did I mention how much I LOVE Christmas? It is my favorite time of the year.
Wink
Life gets unbelievably busy every year starting in Late October and builds to a fever frenzy by mid December. It's always something. One year horrible storms messed up shipping and we "ruined" several Christmases for clients who did not care that it was the fault of weather and both FedEx and UPS deciding that the lives of their pilots were more important than trying to deliver their gifts on time. (To be fair, most of the clients fully understood and were very happy when their tardy gifts were delivered, they just were not the ones making all the noise.)
Let's not forget those that do not order that custom ring until the deadline for shipping is only seven to ten working days away, and we normally take at least two full weeks even for a simple job so that we can do quality control during the time frame. This year we had three that called or emailed with five working days left.
By the time the last week arrives I am in the depth of my annual throes of how much I hate Christmas, especially when my beleaguered wife gets home and asks me if she should just go ahead and do all the shopping or have I even thought of it yet? Since I am working ten to twelve hours per day, you know the answer I give and the angst that engenders.
Then at last, Christmas Eve is here. I have delivered all that is going to be delivered and am usually ready to leave the office by noon or one at at the latest. I have talked with those that are going to get their gifts late, thankfully none most years, including this year. I have watched the tracking numbers of those who are to get their packages and checked them all off as delivered, ahhh!
This year, my Christmas funk started to lift on Sunday evening when my daughter and her husband and my granddaughter arrived. It was to be the beginning of a week filled with family and children playing together when my son's three kids gathered round Ellie Lou and vied for her attention. (She is only 19 months old and cuter than can be.)
Finally, yesterday, I finished writing checks, making deposits and checking off my list of delivered packages and the weight of responsibility left my shoulders. I suddenly felt renewed and gave myself over to making Christmas Eve dinner. I gave the kitchen a quick organizing, taking all of my clutter off the kitchen table and then cleaning also the dining room table. (There is a LOT of excess paper now on the guest room bed!) I put the extra leaf in the living room table and turned on the Christmas tree lights.
Next I put in a large prime rib roast to cook and cleaned out the dishwasher and loaded the morning's dishes in. I shelled the shrimp I cooked the night before and cut up some smoked duck breast into bite sized pieces and made shrimp dipping sauce, both with and without spicing for those who like to eat their shrimp without the sudden burning thrill of my heavy handed spicing. While I was making the sweet hot mustard for the duck my wife arrived home from her work and set the table cloth on the dining room table and then got out the fine china. Soon all was ready for the arrival of our family, which lacked only a couple of hours during which the house would take on the wonderful promise of unearthly joy and the smell of cooking prime rib.
Resa opted for a quick nap while I noodled about making everything more perfect, way too excited to sleep. Soon I filled a glass with champagne and was just starting down the stairs to wake Resa when up she came looking like a dream in an incredible black and white blouse that looked like something out of heaven's own closet. We sat and sipped and I got a crink in my neck from constantly looking out the window to catch site of my families arriving. It was raining and yucky and I had a huge umbrella that one of my suppliers had sent me for Christmas and I wanted to run down and offer a dry escort service from driveway to front porch.
Finally they were there and then all to quickly, after an incredible evening of fun and laughter and the children all opening one gift, they were gone leaving Resa and I for a short hour before we went to sleep to wait for Christmas morning. Did I mention that everyone of the adults and two of the children pitched in on clean up and it was done in an unbelievably short time?
We woke to the snow that had been falling when the children left still being on the ground and drove to my son's house where we shared Christmas morning, all of the gift opening, and a wonderful brunch. (Wisely served on paper plates. Now THAT! is the way to shorten clean up.)
More laughter, more hugs, more smiles, and in a few more hours Resa and I will go back for yet another full family dinner.
Did I mention how much I LOVE Christmas? It is my favorite time of the year.
Wink