Christmas will NOT beat me!

Not this year!  Nope, I am putting my foot down.  I will not be stressed out.  I will not panic.  I will not let it consume my life, my house, my sanity.  Christmas will not beat me this year!

So far, so good.  Like I said before, the shopping is done.  And as of right now, the cards are sent, the baking is very close, and gifts have been sent to school and bus drivers.  The big thing that has been suffering is my house.  My poor husband and children have had to search for clean clothing, my dining room table hasn't been seen in weeks, and the clutter strewn through the house makes my stomach turn.  The truth is that I have been exhausted.  Just knowing that I the children fed and clean is enough for me.  They go to bed and Chuck and I collapse into our chairs to stare blindly at the tv before we stumble to bed.  And when we do have some time and energy, we are on the go.  And so my house sat for the last couple of weeks.

Until yesterday.  I was a crazy woman.  After church, I bake/made seven different types of cookies.  I did seven loads of laundry.  I made one last Christmas present, and believe it or not, my dining room table is now visible.  I am so thankful for my wonderful husband.  He did the dishes after I made the kitchen a mess, ran errands for the things I forgot, wrapped the presents that needed to be delivered today, and made dinner.  We were both exhausted last night, but this morning I feel soooooooooooo much better. 

I don't know about everyone else, but when things around me (my house, my classroom, my car) are chaotic, I feel like my life is chaotic, too.  When things are neat and orderly, I am calm.  My husband says I am a little OCD.  Maybe I am.  My coworkers laugh at me because I have specific days to do specific things and my classroom is always tidy.  But it keeps me calm.  And let's face it, anyone who knows me, likes me WAY better when I'm calm.  When I am not, well, let's just say I get a little spirited.

So now that the house is picked up, there is only one more load of laundry, and only the sugar cookies need to be frosted, I feel like I have one up on Christmas.  It is not going to beat me this year.  This year, I am going to relax and enjoy the holiday.  In my clean house.