crazy christmas

My friend, Kristi, and I used to meet for what we called "crazy coffee".
This entailed dragging 3 children ages 2 and under to Starbucks.
There was a general flinging of straws, the inhalation of madeline cookies
and chocolate milk, 3.4 spills and some screaming thrown in for good measure.
I think I was usually the one screaming.
Kristi and I would get to talk about 3 out of the 60 minutes we were there due
to the mayhem. But we kept going to crazy coffee because we loved being together.
As of this morning, I'm pretty sure I am having crazy christmas.
I got up at 6:30 to prep for all of the goodies to take to the boys classes.
Around 8:00 when the boys were supposed to be heading out the door,
I was losing my salvation in the kitchen.
Scott tried to keep the children occupied and away from me as I ranted over
my lack of baking powder.
Who would know that baking powder could be so vital to one's sanity?
Then there are the lines that I have been encountering during my Christmas
shopping forays.
It's like going to Disneyland except that there is no fun ride at the end of the line. Just people who want my money.
I was in Ross the other afternoon and I believe half of Redwood City was there.
The line extended almost the entire length of the store.
The funniest part was you couldn't tell the length of the line
from the front of the store.
So each person would round the corner and call out to the heavens in despair
when they saw the line.
One man made eye contact with me as he viewed the incredible line.
"It's just a scarf....without a price tag," he said forlornly.
I gave him a firm look. I knew this man was not up for a price check.
No one is up for a price check at Ross.
The people who are checking the price get lost amongst the clothes for hours.
"It's not worth it," I told him.
In my head I thought, Run far far away and don't come back to Ross until February.
He heeded my shopperly advice and left.
When I was finally at the front of the line, another gentleman rounded the corner
and burst into a colorful array of language. Rather descriptive.
And while I prefer to keep my language a little less colorful, I felt for the man.
I really did.
And then there is the part where in purchasing gifts every thing has to come
out even. And fair. All is fair in love and Christmas shopping.
I can't spend $20 on one person's gift and $5 on another.
We must have equality in the gifting arena. That puts the pressure on.
So these are just a few of the dilemmas of crazy christmas.
But just like crazy coffee, I can't stay away.
And that is the craziest part of all. I love all the trappings of Christmas.
Most of all that in 6 short days all the scrurrying and cooking and baking and wrapping will be done and I will be sitting with family, soaking up their presence,
singing christmas carols and hopefully nibbling on some type of cookie.
It's about to get good, tsgs, it really is.