In Focus

Happy Holidays

I looked at the article schedule a couple of days ago and noticed I was slotted to write the article today, with the theme "Happy Holidays." There was just a slight problem. I wasn't even close to being happy. Here it was, "The Holidays," and I couldn't even join in the festivities because I was going to snap. My life was about ten steps ahead of me and it was everything I could do to catch up to yesterday. I was surviving on four hours of sleep, I looked like a bowl of Chex Mix, and every appointment I made, I missed.

It started with my annual Holiday Greeting cards. I got the family together (an uplifting story in itself - trying to get all six of us together and smiling for thirty seconds), snapped the picture, and ran right to the photo store to have it developed. The pictures came back with the whole Housley family having devilish red eyes. I finally found a photo store to fix the problem and they promised my pictures would be back in a week. When I went to pick them up, sure enough, the red eye was gone, but now we all had creepy alien-looking blue eyes. They had used a "red-eye" marker and colored in our whole eye, even the white part. I brought them back, had a huge Holiday Christmas Card timeliness discussion (okay, argument), and they said they'd have them ready in four days. I got the pictures back on December 19, 2000. All that fixing and re-fixing and we still looked like we were relatives of Linda Blair. So there I sat, touching up the red eyes of the devil family on two hundred and fifty cards. Even the Rosie O'Donnell Christmas CD could not get me out of my "Rudolph can die" mood.

Right about December 18th, I remembered I hadn't done my Christmas shopping yet. Totally stressed about the cards, I forgot about the "Spirit of Giving." I kept thinking that life would stop and wait for Chick Karin to catch up. Didn't the powers that be know I needed a couple of days to make my list, a couple more days to box and wrap, and a week to send them off to all of our family scattered about the U.S? Life kept going, and I was losing days. I hopped on the computer and picked random and generic gifts. (Aren't you glad you're not on my list?) In a frenzy, I ran out and bought each of the Chicks a Christmas CD. Maybe the cheery music would put them in the holiday mood, even if it didn't work for me. I sent them off, only to find out that the one I sent my mother was empty. Seems one of the kids opened the CD and kept it in their own player.

The non-joy doesn't end there. Two strings on my Christmas tree blink and two are how I like them: solid white. Every time I look at it I scream, "Will the Blinker culprit please stand up?" I confined myself to the kitchen.

I started to bake Holiday cookies and got distracted. (Don't ask). The dough got left in the refrigerator. When I remembered two days later, there was no way I could the break big hard boulder of dough into small walnut size treats. I threw it all out.

Did I mention that my husband is home with a concussion? Concussions cause irritability. The whole team is on the road playing hockey, and he's home. Not only is he frustrated, it's his second concussion in a month. Happy Holidays.

I was pretty sure that this holiday season was going to go down as the worst. I haven't even mentioned the stock market, but you can read about how horrible it's been in this week's Market Wrap. POURING THE SALT!

But then, I went to the kids' school Christmas Concert. all day long. I was late because my youngest had to have two cavities filled. She's three and now has four fillings. (Happy Holidays Guilt-Ridden Mom.) I ran in, sat down and turned off my cell phone. Phew. I told myself to just sit, breathe and listen.

It hit me. Those little voices. The songs. The smiles. The excitement that soon St. Nick would be here. My red eyes were filled with tears. Looking at my little boy up there singing solo, "Glo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ria. In Egg-Shell-Sees-Day-O." I had caught up to my life, and there it was, up on stage. I was just hoping nobody was looking at me, the sobbing, imperfect, worn-down mother.

I figured it out. Christmas is not about having the greatest gingerbread cookies. It's not about looking perfect in your Christmas card. It's not about Christmas decorations rivaling Martha Stewart's. And I know it's not about the stock market. It's about stopping everything and enjoying what you have. It's about celebrating the birth of Jesus. It's about kissing your husband, your kids and thanking God they are here (concussion or no concussion). It's about getting together with family and friends and catching up on the past year. It's about listening to your little girl sing Woodolph the Wed Nose Weindeer to anyone who will listen. It's about slowing down your world to a pace you can enjoy. Life is just too short to miss the spirit of another Christmas.

Happy Holidays,

Chick Karin