Are You Ready For Christmas?

"Are you ready for Christmas?" Stop asking that question! For me, who hates shopping and particularly hates gift shopping, it's simply a catalyst to extra stress and pressure. It's an easy conversation starter, granted, and I am sure that I have been known to say it at times myself (being a bit of an idiot in the small talk department and eager to latch onto any cliché I can come up with), but if I hear it one more time this year I just may go a bit nuts.

No, I am not ready. Truth be told, I've been lying in bed reading since about 7:30. Yes, there are things I should be doing, but the thought stresses me out, so I just retreat. I have groceries to buy (and since I don't make a list and plan well, I will probably forget at least one key ingredient.) I have presents to buy....for MY PARENTS, for example!!!!! They are horrible to buy for. They buy what they want, and are constantly in downsizing mode. They don't like gift cards, they don't give hints, and dad especially would prefer not to have things to open. I sometimes just don't give them anything....that sounds bad, doesn't it? For Dad, especially, that is fine, and Mom too really, but why do I still feel stressed when I can't come up with a good idea?

I've got friends who are amazing gift-givers....and on one hand I don't feel the need to compete with them (because they are exceptional people and I am hopeless and I know will love me anyway, even if I arrive empty-handed), but I do want to honor them with something special. They are worth it. But chances are, no...they won't get gifts or if they are they won't be great. Or they won't be on time. I surrender. I will never be the coolest gift-giving friend. (Unless you are a kid, and then I have a chance.)

Thankfully some of the stores I bought from offered free gift wrapping this year, so there aren't a lot of gifts to wrap, but those that are will throw me in a last minute tizzy as I get ready to run out the door on Christmas day. Scissors, tape, paper, tags, bags, tissue paper, and ribbon....will I have all I need? Probably not.

I have baked nothing so far this year (so don't expect the gift of baked goods) and the caramel cake I said I would make for our family Christmas? Of course I have never made it before. Yes, they say you shouldn't do that, but when would I test recipes if not for using family and friends as guinea pigs? They come out OK on occasion. And there will be plenty of other food! The salad I am making? That will be OK, if I make the aforementioned trip to the grocery store and actually buy the fixings. But have I put any thought into what will go into it? Nooooo!

And then there is half of a day of work tomorrow, a Christmas Eve service to attend, and a trip to Greensboro to participate in a 20+ year tradition of Christmas caroling at the hospital. So how many hours until Christmas?

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we fill our plate to overwhelming?

I am not in a total frenzy.....at least externally. When the stress gets up there, I retreat, so right now I appear calm. Thankfully I was born into a family influenced by my grandmother Lois McKinney, who never seemed riled by anything like this. She knew most things were not worth getting worked up over. I've got a touch of her in me, along with my grandsha on my mom's side who was also calm in a storm, but a bit of discontent and high expectations from the other two grandparents. My mother was the "get it all done" type, and my dad, well, he just doesn't seem to notice it is a day different than other days. As for me, the nature is at war in times like these.

When I analyze it, these things that stress me out are not what I consider to be important about Christmas, or important to my relationships. I need to release myself from that stress. The real reason for Christmas is not about a box or about meeting an impossible standard. The real reason for Christmas was to release us from that pressure. We can't be good enough. We can't do it all.

"For unto you is born a Savior."

We are the reason for the season. We are the reason the Christmas gift, the Christ child, was given. If there was no one else in the world, the gift would have still been given for you. Because you are that important to God. If we are willing to receive the gift, we are ready for Christmas. That is all it takes to celebrate in the manner it was intended.

Relax, and enjoy. It is a time we should feel most loved and at peace. Not because of how we are treated by others, but because of who we are before God. Am I ready for Christmas? Why yes, I am. Bring it on! Emmanuel. God is with us. Come, let us adore him.

The Shopping Gene

So it is December 22 and I haven't really started my Christmas shopping....is anyone with me?  No, I didn't think so.  The truth is that I evidently didn't inherit the shopping gene. My mother has it.  My sisters have it.  My girlfriends have it.....well other than my friend Marina.  It's our little joke.  One of us will say "Let's go shopping" and then we pause to see how long it takes the other one to giggle. We have gone shopping together on occasion....it just doesn't last long. It consists more of eye rolls than anything else and within the hour we're usually through.

I really, really hate command buying.  Birthdays, Christmas....you waiting for the perfect gift?  Keep waiting....it's not going to come from me.  If I remember....and that is doubtful...I will pick the wrong thing.  Yes, it just may be painful.  For us both.  Receiving a bad gift is bad, but knowing you gave it is horrible.  

I have friends who are awesome at this.  My friend Debbie bought me a bike for my birthday this year.  A pink bike with foot brakes.  She has heard me talk about my love for foot brakes (and fear of hand brakes) ever since we have known each other.  She has been on the lookout....because she knew while I wanted one, I would not have the patience to shop for one.  She had looked long enough that her then fiancé/now husband even knew I wanted one.  He found it and told her about it and they delivered it the day before my birthday....with cupcakes and other gifts, too.  She's that kind of friend.... always on the lookout for the perfect gift for those she loves (or even those she has just met!). From me she just may get dinner....if I remember!

Yes, I will also forget your birthday.  I usually remember the birthdays of my siblings and my parents, but beyond that my brain won't hold dates.  It has reached capacity.  So yeah, unless Facebook reminds me or you do, I won't remember. That includes the precious nieces and nephews and godchildren.  Love them as I do, my brain is a sieve for those important dates. I believe my sister Deryn inherited my memory chip. Yeah, she remembers them all. In fact, she even remembers the approximate birth date and ages of the kids of friends of mine she has never met. I think perhaps it is to vex me. It's nuts, I tell you! I think she exercises her mind the way an Olympic athlete exercises their body. So if you want you or your child to get gifts, invite me to the party. Then remind me the day before. Or tell Deryn. The good news is that I am pretty good about buying gifts for the average child when I remember to do it. Nerf, Barbies, Play-Doh....I know where to find them!  If you like these things, I just may be able to find a gift for you, too!

I am grateful that Debbie and Deryn are in my life. Deryn constantly reminds me of gifts I need to buy, so sometimes the kids have no clue that their big day is like a foreign language to my brain. Debbie lets me deliver her gifts to the triplets of our friend Mandy. They have great memories of the lovely gifts Miss Debbie has given them. I plan to answer to "Miss Debbie" for the rest of my life whenever they are around. So maybe it's wrong....I'm a sinner.

So far this year I have bought things for an angel tree kid at church, pajamas for a couple of senior citizens, some "not shoebox, but sack" gifts for our church's mission trip. All done because of deadlines.Not one gift for my family, regardless of the impending deadline. I suspect the kids will be taken care of before Christmas, but the adults? It probably won't happen. And yes, that includes the parents!  I won't make any excuses, because thankfully they will understand. I am really being kind. They won't get that bad gift they will have to pretend to like. Or give back! The life of one related to the genetically deficient.