ba humbug and all that noise

I look around at my house and the place is still a mess even though I vowed not to begin Christmas decorations until I cleaned up. My tree is up, packages wrapped, toffee made, cards sitting waiting for postage, and yet mail is also strewn about and things need to be put away. It's like Christmas after a tornado hit. But, the mess clearly hasn't stopped me from readying.

I'm a bit of a Christmas freak. I've calmed in my old age, but I love this season like nothing else in life. And Christmas cards, well, they're one of my favorite parts. I buy them at the after Christmas sales and last year I was so in love with two types of cards that I bought both. This means that I have cards for this year and next. It's OK, I don't need to do any after Christmas items this year anyway. Every year the culling of addresses is a pain that I put off until almost the last minute. A week ago I wrote and sealed the cards, but there they still lie, under (or near) my tree. There is a pile of cards for addresses I know and a pile of ones of people who've moved or who are new friends and address have not been exchanged. As I went through my address book I erased and rewrote about 10 addresses. At least 10 people in my life have made big changes in the last year. And there are the new additions too, the babies.

It's the first Christmas where all of life is swirling a bit around me. Babies and houses and important grown up stuff and I'm just sitting in my apartment wondering whether or not to get a cat.