"Holiday" recovery

Whew. Is it over?

Remember Christmas when you were a kid? The only thing you had to worry about was trying to be good long enough to pull the wool over Santa's eyes. Remember Christmas when you were a man? The only thing you had to worry about was when dinner would be served and how many envelopes your Visa bill would come in.

Remember Christmas when you were a woman? (you should, unless like me you have chosen to block it out.) The only thing you had to worry about was choosing the right gift for everyone you know, shopping for gifts, thinking about how to pay for said gifts, wrapping gifts, shipping gifts, designing Christmas cards, addressing Christmas cards, mailing Christmas cards, making time to have a meaningful moment with your daughter as you build a gingerbread house, baking ten different kinds of cookies (not counting the ones you let the kids decorate, cause let's face it, no one's going to eat those but them), decorating the outside of the house, decorating the inside of the house including the Christmas tree, cleaning the house or at least making it company presentable, dressing the children for church, taking the children to church (which includes the task of preventing them from pouring hot candle wax all over themselves), cooking Christmas Eve dinner, serving said dinner, cleaning up afterward, referee-ing the opening of presents, separating the gifts from the wrapping paper, digging through the garbage bag of wrapping paper looking for the instructions to the electronic gizmo that your kids took out of the package even thought you specifically told them not to take anything out of the box until you had the place picked up, making sure that a plate of cookies is set out for Santa, digging out carrots to add to the cookies because, apparently, the reindeer need snacks too, staying up way past your bedtime to...keep an eye out for Santa, waking up early because the kids are jumping on your bed, trying to remember to take pictures of everything that's going on because in a few months when you are scrapbooking you'll be kicking yourself for not taking more pictures, making breakfast, dressing the kids (and the husband), shuffling everyone off to visit relatives, haranguing the kids to taking their crap back up to their room so you can find a flat place to lay down, and then you have to undo all of the decorating and spend the next week trying to put everything back the way it was.

So here's to all you women out there. I hope you had a great "holiday". I think we all deserve a weekend getaway that includes room service and massages. (Hint to all husbands who may be reading this...especially if you are married to me.) And just remember, there's a whole 358 days until next Christmas!