One week until Christmas. In the next week, we have: two preschool Christmas parties (one for the Tuesday/Thursday group, and one for the extra Friday class), two performances of the elementary school Christmas musical (the preschoolers are the opening act), Mr. Q's birthday on Thursday, the high school Christmas banquet (which he is helping run) also on Thursday, high school grades also due on Thursday, a pancake breakfast on Friday (which involves high school teachers getting up at 6am to make said pancakes), and a family party here on Saturday (it's Little Christmas Eve, the day when we eat Norwegian food). And then it's Christmas.
Also, I have a child who spiked a high fever last night (but at least it's low grade this morning, and the awful chest cough is moving into sinus congestion), and I have the remnants of concussion symptoms, which have significantly hampered my progress in getting ready for Christmas. I have a stack of presents in open boxes under the tree (and keep forgetting to ask visiting family members not to look to closely at the unwrapped presents), and there isn't a scrap of wrapping paper in the house. I intended to do a bunch of Christmas baking, and am starting to realise that none of it may happen this year. I missed my one chance this year to sing carols. It's starting to look like we aren't going to get lights onto the house before the actual holiday, this year. We have E's actual present, but nothing to put into stockings, and at the slow rate of both of E and my recovery, I'm wondering what of any Christmas will happen at all.
But, in my bleary-headed state, I managed to write and address about six Christmas cards (to various loved ones who live far away), and I think they're mostly coherent. We have a Christmas tree up, and most of the major presents are here. (A couple more big ones still need to be purchased, but it's for the side of the family that isn't having a gift exchange until early January, thanks to scheduling conflicts. So, at least we can take advantage of Boxing Week sales for those ones.) And thank goodness we made no plans to travel this year.
How are you all doing? I imagine that the clergical pixies are feeling a similar level of ragged and unprepared (especially poor esperanza, who's been sick, and whose computer took a tumble off of a coffee table yesterday). I'll be popping in periodically through the week, but I may have to force myself to take some major screen time breaks, in the attempt to get my head back in order.
