"I am NOT a Grinch!" she declared.

Today was school Christmas concert day...

Everyone knows that I love Christmas. I also love teachers and appreciate all that they do for the children of our world, so I will try to carefully word what I am about to write. I will try to avoid sounding like a Humbug. Here goes...

I am really fed up with all of the busy-ness that has accompanied this year's Christmas. I am sick of fighting crowds. I am sick of the obligations that my children now have since they are both in school...and am dreading what everyone has warned me about....that it will only get worse as they get older. I long for the days when I had pre-schoolers and the only thing I was obligated to do with my children was feed and love them. There was so much more time to play and make a fuss over little things. There was time to leisurely bake cookies and sit and draw pictures. Now I feel like we are constantly rushing off to something, and I do not like it one bit. So...my conscious and determined goal for the rest of December is to s-l-o-w down and keep things simple. I want us all to have time to sit and "be" together. I want Emma to have plenty of unscheduled time to play with the fairies in her imagination, something I think she desperately needs.

Which brings me back to the Infants' Christmas Concert at school this morning... the infants' Christmas concert, which lasted an hour and involved the singing of countless songs whose words most of the chidren didn't know. (Poor Emma, when she wasn't picking her nose on stage, looked like Oprah when she has a musical guest on her show. Y'all know Oprah always tries to sing along but NEVER knows the words.) At least five of the four year olds in reception ended up in tears at some point during the show. Poor Jade, who is pictured above on the left, cried throughout the entirety of the performance and had a really impressive strand of snot leading from her nose to her ear by the time it was all said and done. Mary and Joseph looked completely petrified. And I sat there feeling grinchier and grinchier by the minute. I love Christmas. I love what the day is all about, but isn't this a bit too much for my little children? I want to simplify. I want to slow down. Did I already say that? I think I needed to say it again. I would have been very happy with a much shorter show, a few traditional Christmas carols and stage full of children who did not look completely dismal. Maybe it's just me?

Only 7 more school days left until Christmas vacation, and I am reserving the right to say, "no" to any invitations that conflict with my new mantra of simplicity. I do not care if I am labeled "Grinch." I am looking forward to sleeping late(r), reading Christmas stories to my kids, cooking good, slow food, and filling myself with the joys of the season. I may even go wild and have the groceries delivered the week of Christmas in order to avoid the most-dreaded Tesco. (A trip to Tesco on the week leading up to Christmas is enough to turn Santa, himself, into a Scrooge.)

So...here's wishing you all some quiet time to enjoy the real spirit of Christmas, unless you enjoy the hustle and bustle, in which case, I'll leave you to it! Stay jolly, everyone!