Farewell for now

It's been a lot of fun writing these Christmas posts, but now I must stop for a little while because Christmas is FINALLY ACTUALLY HAPPENING and we are going away to celebrate it, along with what must be at least half of Ridgecrest. The town already feels deserted.

I'm looking forward to our trip up north, but there is one thing I'm really disappointed about. Winnie-go-house is having an Open House! Or sort of. They're going to hand out candy on Christmas Eve, so it's like Halloween all over again, and it would be a chance to meet the owners. I want to stay and go to that! But then we would be stuck in Ridgecrest with no one to have Christmas Eve dinner with. So it's better we leave. Still, seeing as how we're Winnie-go-house's biggest fans, I think we should be there. So I'm bummed.

But other than that I'm feeling pretty good. The presents are all wrapped and now that the twins are in bed I need to stow them in the car in our Trader Joe's and Whole Foods shopping bags. The stockings are in a Target bag along with the new Christmas PJs and the new Christmas books -- all to be opened when we get ready for bed in our hotel room on Christmas Eve. The stocking stuffers are in a SEPARATE bag, a BLUE bag, which I have already decided Rocket Boy will mix up with the other bag and thus the twins will get all their stocking stuffers without having hung up their stockings first. I got so mad thinking about that possibility today that I almost got in an accident. Must focus and remain in the real world, not a fantasy world where everything goes wrong.

We haven't quite finished the cards, but maybe we'll do that tonight -- we've only got about 6 or 7 left to do. I packed the boos' suitcase this afternoon and also mine. Still have some other random packing to do, and cleaning. Have to write out the instructions for our pet sitter. Have to write some checks to stick in the mail on our way out of town.

Christmas is so different when you're a parent. It's so much work! Not only do you have to do all the usual stuff, decorating and baking and shopping and writing cards and all that, but you also have to explain everything you're doing, why you do it, how it works, what they mustn't touch. You have to teach the traditions. Also, you have to pretend that Santa Claus is a real person who is going to come into our hotel room on Christmas Eve and put presents in our stockings. This is all very tiring. But it's fun, too. Very meaningful.

Thanks for listening, everyone. See you -- probably not till January, or close to it. I'm at 97 books and counting, so I'll be checking in to report on whether I got to 100 or not. Have a happy Christmas, if that's what you do, or even just a happy vacation. Take care!