Busy?

I'm discovering that in the midst of the holiday rush (and I'm including Thanksgiving in that) it's a lot harder to stay in routines. It's harder to get anything done. And it's a lot harder to find time for writing and blogging. It's not that I don't have stories to tell…boy do I have stories to tell…but I keep finding other things to steal my attention. And that's not always a bad thing. It sometimes means that I've decided to sit and snuggle my girls while we watch the boys play Xbox. (Or it means that they've decided that I'm going to snuggle them…either way!) Sometimes it means that I'm cooking or shopping or decorating (we spent a full week with a tree up but only half covered in lights!). Sometimes it means that I've decided that all I need in the world is an extra hour of sleep. Sometimes it just means that I can't find it in me to concentrate on telling a story, even if it's funny.

I am determined this year to find time to enjoy the holidays. To appreciate the together-ness and the meaning of Christmas. It's easy with little kids to get the joy of Christmas – it's a lot harder to remember the why of Christmas. Throw in a few (hundred) basketball games and practices, and a choir concert or two, and it's more like a mad-dash into The Day, without any moments to just BE.

The past several years, at least in my memory, have been sheer chaos. Gifts bought at the last minute, because we put things off and couldn't make up our minds. Advent calendars opened once or twice a week, several days at a time because we didn't remember to do them every night. Marathon wrapping sessions on Christmas Eve, which seems like a complete waste of time (I mean, really, they're going to open them in a couple hours, can't I just cover them with a sheet?!?) All leading up to a general collapse the day after Christmas because we're all worn out from the running around. Oh, but there's no time for a collapse, because there's still family in town to spend time with and games to be played, and basketball to be practiced…maybe next year we'll do better.

So this is "next year," and I'm trying to do better. I've got my chart of who to buy for, and what we've bought. I've wrapped a few presents. I've decorated a little at a time (and I'm not done yet). We're still missing nights on the advent calendar, and doing double chocolates to make up on other nights, but the kids aren't exactly complaining about that! I've found an Advent devotional I'm enjoying that I'm trying to do at breakfast each day. (Maybe next year I'll add it to the Advent time with my kids.)

It's my hope that we will hit the first day of Christmas break (9 days of school left!!) with next-to-nothing left to do besides enjoy each other. Maybe we'll have time to drive around and look at Christmas lights. Maybe we'll have time to be together without needing to spend it shopping! Maybe I'll manage to communicate to my kids the deeper meaning of Christmas.

And maybe – every once in a while – I'll be able to blog about it.