Bringing Up Baby
I'm Jess, I'm 30 years old, I live in Minneapolis with The Husband, Jack (the girl dog with a boy name), and The Mac -- the person we made. He's pretty much the most awesome human being alive and easily the greatest thing I've ever done.
If you're interested, my primary blog is Scattered Jigsaw Thoughts.
Feel free to Ask Me Anything
Or you can just email me: sutherslat {at} gmail {dot} com
We’re in the Christmas home stretch right now. Except for a trip to the dollar store, all my shopping is done. I have two crafts to complete that will hopefully be finished today. The Husband has a half day and will be coming home to be the gift wrapping bitch (he’s so good at wrapping gifts, you guys). The end is in sight.
We’ve got a marathon of a holiday this year. Actually, we usually have a marathon every year, and hopefully this is the last year we do this to ourselves. I grew up celebrating Christmas Eve with my whole extended family on my mom’s side, and then Christmas Day with my whole extended family on my dad’s side. I already grew up with a jam-packed holiday. And those celebrations are traditions to which I am fiercely attached. Trying to squeeze in time with The Husband’s mom and his dad has been tricky for us our whole marriage, but tossing Mac into the mix has certainly made things even harder. Also, the fact that The Husband’s dad lives an hour and a half outside of Minneapolis complicates things even further. Every year we spread ourselves ridiculously thin trying to fit it all in.
It’s exhausting trying to juggle it all. Exhausting especially for my husband, who is stuck dealing with a bratty wife who wants everything her way and a dad who has a tendency to lay the guilt on thick when he doesn’t get his way.
I don’t want our holidays to always be like this. I don’t want them to always be marathons. I want Mac to grow up with the same sense of security and tradition that I did and I don’t want him to have to suffer the consequences of a divorce that happened over 30 years ago. I want to fit in traditions of old, but also create new ones for him.
I want to look forward to the holidays.
So how do the rest of you do it? How do you fit it all in? Do you alternate which family you celebrate with? Are you also dealing with a tricky divorce situation or out-of-town family? How do you make the holidays magical and fun for your child when you feel like you’re running around like a chicken with your head cut off? How do YOU stay joyful during this season when all I want is for it to be over?
