Making Christmas simple is a priority for me. We don't lavish gifts. I buy thing at anywhere but the mall. I make as many gifts as I can. But this year, despite all my efforts to keep it simple, I got to that overwhelmed place, the I-can't-wait-for-this-to-end feeling.
Not exactly a heart that is reflecting on the birth of our Lord. More like a mind that can't juggle all the details of the holidays.
Two things helped me get over that stressed out place.
1) I let go of expectations. I don't really feel like I have to give the best gift ever, but I do worry that it will be a total flop. I just got to the point where I really really didn't care if the recipient jumped up and down or mumbled "thank you". I let it go.
2) I asked for help. My husband has been sooooo busy lately that I didn't dare ask for any help in the shopping department. But his schedule has lightened up lately, and when I found myself with a dining room table full of gifts that needed wrapping and packaging and mailing, I let him help out. He wrapped and put labels on and taped up packages and took the ones to be mailed to the post office this morning. And just asking for help lightened my emotional load.
One more thing that is just an irritation, but it does contribute to my holiday stress is a case of vertigo that is hanging on. I had this last year and it was related to my sinus congestion, so I have been trying to deal with that, but the veritgo is still there. I don't have a severe case, I can still drive and don't feel sick, but it is an annoyance to have that just-got-off-a-boat feeling while I try to do the normal day to day tasks. Pray that it goes away soon.
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