I have always hated the 23rd.
It’s the most useless, necessary day EVER. It serves no purpose, except to take up space before Christmas…
As a little girl, I remember staring at my face in the mirror and having the same feelings about the cheeks on my face. SPACE TAKER UPPERS! They didn’t smell or taste or hear or see… they just took up space. I needed them, to be sure, but they were frustratingly lazy. The 23rd is LAZY.
This day just slow-pokes itself along… it isn’t Christmas Eve, it isn’t Christmas, it’s just TWO LOUSY DAYS before Christmas. In the past, I’ve optimistically tried to give it a useful name like, “The Eve of Christmas Eve” but that just sounds dumb.
And it IS dumb.
I usually try to enjoy each day -each moment -as it comes, but today is just stupid. I’m impatient, and impatient people find the 23rd of December to be basically The Worst Idea in the History of the World. How do we even approach this day? Eat our way through it? Sleep our way through it? Movie marathon ourselves until we hate everything and everyone around us?! There’s always the option of shopping (which has the same effect as Movie Marathoning, ironically).
It’s too much to deal with.
I’m too excited, too impatient, and in an effort to power through today, I’m going to toss out a few options that think outside the Movie Marathon Box. We’ll get through today together.
I’m also going to throw in a few pictures of my family because.
#1) Facetime far-away friends and family who are also trying to just DEAL with today. (Steve? What time works best?)
#2) Master the art of Lotion Making with my 7 year old daughter who revealed her set in stone plans to own a boutique/antique store where she sells stuff she makes along side stuff that belongs to people who are no longer with us.
I have everything on hand -coconut oil, beeswax (bought: Stakich 1 lb Pure Yellow BEESWAX Block – Craft Grade, Top Quality – because it saved me from grating, grating, grating), essential oils, jars… it’s going to be amazing. And messy. And fragrant.
#3) Go caroling and entertain other people who are basically doing good to just make it minute-to-minute today.
#4) Keep Christmas movies going in the background in an effort to WATCH THEM ALL AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE before Christmas goes away. My all-time favorites are found in this pretty bundle:
Christmas in Connecticut is non-optional. We’ll also been streaming, “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “White Christmas” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (the cartoon -we’re proclaimed Seuss Purists), “A Christmas Story,” and our family favorite: ARTHUR CHRISTMAS!
We also haven’t been able to stop watching “While You Were Sleeping” and rewinding all the best parts. We can’t leave out “You’ve Got Mail” either.
#5) Wrap stuff.
#6) Clean stuff.
#7) Watch stuff that never fails to make me laugh so hard I cry.
#8) Watch stuff that never fails to touch me so deeply I cry.
#9) Cry, period. Because the 23rd is just… cry worthy.
#10) Tell the story of Lacy antique shopping with me. She had $2, and she selected two books -each one was $1. When the sweet shop owner rang her up, the total came to $2.18. Lacy looked up at me with the panic so familiar to me -the SHORT ON CASH panic.
“Just put the difference on my ticket,” I said, and went to hand her my stash of things I wanted to buy.
“No,” the owner put her hand out to stop me, “Let me teach her.”
My Mama Bear Instincts kicked into high gear. TEACH HER? Was she about to shame my daughter? Was she about to try and SCHOOL my daughter? I did a 2-second pep talk, readying myself to defend my daughter and save the world.
“Next time you go into an antique store,” the owner leaned over the counter to put herself at eye level with Lacy, “Ask the owner, ‘will you take less for this?’ Can you say that?”
“Can I pay less?” Lacy asked, timidly. The owner shook her bobbed hair, “No, no… Will you TAKE LESS for this?”
“Will you take less for this?” Lacy was half-hiding her face.
“Yes,” the owner took her place next to the cash register once more and handed her a new total: $1.95
We walked out of the store hand-in-hand, “Wow, that was NICE, huh, Mom?”
Nice, funny, festive. Lacy’s life seems to be one big mash-up of nice things.
Makes me glad to be part of the ride.
#10) Take a long, hot bath and get interrupted by a little baby stripping her PJs off and plopping herself in my water to confiscate my fancy tea mask.
#11) Do word searches with Trent because he has suddenly become the KING of the word search and amazed us all.
#12) Read stuff. I’m saving my list of Thing To Be Reading for after Christmas -because that’s the best time of all to be reading.
#13) Eat Stuff.
#14) Beat my impatience with a serenity stick. Do they sell those?
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