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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Ho, Ho, Oh! How Am I Not Ready for the Holidays?

Hallmark Frosty Falls 2010 magic ornament

It is clear that this year I have not followed my special event planning guide well enough, because I find myself all flustered 9 days before Christmas.

To be fair, I have been sick since last Friday, the 10th. Being sick wiped out last weekend as viable 'get it done with help from the hubs' time. Getting sick wasn't part of my holiday planning, but I think I've learned a valuable lesson here. It's no surprise that this is cold and flu season too, so I really should add a cold and flu variable to my holiday prep equation.

Leave it to the Universe to reinforce this point yesterday.

Last weekend was supposed to be the big trip to the Hallmark store to pick up my ornaments--specifically ornaments featuring penguins--something I save up for and collect every year. Well, that didn't happen. So when I went yesterday, I got a shock when many of the ones I wanted were simply out-of-stock, gone and weren't there.

Then I got a half sympathetic, half sarcastic reminder from the salesgirl when I mentioned that several of the ornaments I wanted weren't on the shelves. She said, "It's 10 days before Christmas and a lot of people came in here last weekend to buy ornaments."

'Wow, really, you don't say,' I wanted to snark back, but I just smiled instead.

I wish I could say that this was the only hiccup on the road to Ho! Ho! Ho!, but it's not. There is still grocery shopping to do, baking to get done, gifts to acquire and wrap, side-dishes to plan and prepare ... plus things to do to get the dogs ready to travel with us down the highway and next to the beach to grandma's house.

O.K., so I need to stop panicking and start formulating plan B. That means three things:
  • scale down
  • scale back
  • slash
So instead of HO! HO! HO!, I might be looking at ho, ho, ho this year.

If nothing else, living with chronic illness has taught me how to be resourceful and tackle the unexpected. It's all about being in the moment and becoming better at managing my circumstances and situation. Maybe next year I can incorporate what I've learned and try getting prepared earlier, like at the beginning of November instead of the beginning of December.

Better yet, I should take a cue from Hallmark: after all, those ornaments start showing up in stores in July!


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4 comments

Jessica said...

It seems no matter how early I start my Christmas planning...I still have last minute things to get done and stress out! Guess it's inevitable! =(

Anonymous said...

It seems like everyone is getting sick right now! Sorry to hear you couldn't get your ornament. People can be so snotty sometime... which is wrong considering she was working there! I hope you get feeling better soon and get caught up without running yourself down so much. Doing it with a chronic illness is tiring enough!

Marie said...

I'm certainly not ready either. We ran short of funds this week, and I'm scrimping to try and get gifts sent out to relatives in other states/countries! I still have a bunch to do!

I also wanted to let you know that I love your blog, though I haven't been blogging much the past couple months. Your story and optimism is so inspiring, I would like to pass along to you the Versatile blogger award. It's on my page if you want to view it.

Thank you for sharing your heart with us!

Migrainista said...

Nothing can ruin plans quicker than bug. Living with chronic pain we learn to work through and/or around our pain. But a bug...that is just too much to on top of everything else.

Hope you are feeling better and will be able to enjoy your Christmas.