There are days I feel like I might meet myself going out the
door as I come in. The past couple of
weeks have been like that. With four major surgeries in a little over a year
and learning to deal with diabetes, there are a lot of things that didn't get
done during the past two years, so I decided to tackle some major house
cleaning before Thanksgiving, get my Christmas shopping done, and finish the
novel I'm writing. Then there was a
Relief Society lesson to teach, a book signing, books to read for the Meridian column
I write, Christmas decorating, Thanksgiving, etc., etc.
The housecleaning exhausted me and had a bad habit of
dropping my blood sugar count. I managed to get some major projects done,
however not all I'd hoped to do. Anyway
by Thanksgiving the house looked pretty good. All of our children and their
families were here for dinner that day.
The food was good, but just being together was even better. We had three
tables and twenty-six people! That's a
lot of people in one house, but well worth it to have the people who top my
list of things I'm grateful for all together.
I did something this year I've never done before. I managed to stay within my budget for
Christmas. Shopping for twelve adults, five teenagers, five elementary age
boys, two preschool girls, a husband, and a few assorted friends and neighbors
takes some strategic planning and lots of lists. There have been some great sales and when
going to the stores became too exhausting, I resorted to a little online
shopping.
We were almost through decorating for Christmas except for
the tree when our three-year-old granddaughter came for a quick visit before
pre-school. She approved it all, especially the music boxes and the M&M
Christmas tree jars. She even had to try
the Nutcracker soap dispenser in the bathroom. When it was time to leave for
school, she wanted to be sure it would all still be there when she comes again.
The cat who visits us every day isn't so sure he approves of
our Christmas tree. It's kind of scary and too close to the back door where he
likes to mooch a snack. Actually we put up two trees this year, a pre-lit
artificial tree and a cute little real tree.
The pre-lit tree takes center stage in the living room and the little
tree is in a big flower pot on the front porch.
Sadly I didn't get much writing done, but I'll try to do
better in the next few weeks, right after one granddaughter's choir concert,
another one's dance recital, a school program, the ward party, wrapping a
gazillion gifts, preparing another Relief Society lesson, celebrating our
wedding anniversary, and reading a few books.
(Be sure to read my Christmas Books column on Meridian Thursday, Dec. 4)
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