Black Friday?

Warning: This will not be the most cheerful entry I've written, so if you want to click off this page, feel free to do so! I really have reservations about even posting this, but here it goes... Okay, I've got to admit I've had a hard time really getting into the Spirit of things this year, while all around me I see friends preparing and decorating. We finally got our tree up this last Monday and it has ornaments on it with our Nativity below. I do love the pretty glow of the tree, the smells of gingerbread, the old familiar songs (and a few new ones the kids have discovered), baking cookies, and the memories of why we got each ornament, but this year... I'm not sure if it's the struggling economy, the unknown of what this next year will hold, or the mound of medical bills I wracked up this last year. I'm not a fan of the winter. The cold, stark, dry, dreary landscape, the grey sky I'm surrounded by (sounds like I'm in the Artic huh?) just does nothing for me! I struggle to stay warm, don't like the bulky layers clothes, the snow & ice... The pressure to find something for everyone, we have birthday's all over December and Jan., Honey wants to have a Christmas celebration with friends at our place (I know I'll have a good time when it gets here - it's all the preparations that stress me) ... I hate with a passion White Elephant gift parties (sorry friends, it's no fun for me). I'm just struggling this year. I'm a Spring Fan simply stated. I love the colors, the birds, the blue sky, spring rains, flowers, smell of spring and freshly mowed grass... Okay, aside from my love of Spring, we have done a few things this year besides the tree and the evergreen wreaths hanging on my house outside. We love the Christmas music (Jars of Clay: Little DrummerBoy Grinch mix is our favorite), but something a friend and I did this last Wednesday was host a children's Christmas celebration, while the parents were off celebrating at another home. We played hide the Candy Cane, Spoons (card game with candy canes instead of spoons), read a few stories (Wombat Devine is a favorite), watched a short annimated The Nativity (Hanna-Barbera's The Greatest Adventure Stories From The Bible) movie, made gingerbread lanterns (the star represents the star the Wisemen and shepards followed) with a small tea light candle inside to illuminate it, and talked to the kids about the meaning behind the 12 Days of Christmas song. Now, while it is disputed that this is the real reason behind the song, it certainly fit in for our evening, so we used it. The kids were very enthusiastic (do you hear what I'm really saying here - they were wound up), the project went great (here is a link to this), the kids consumed 120 Pizza Rolls and other goodies (queso, carrots and dip, puppy chow (not dog food), left happy, and their parents had a great time. Me, I consumed 2 Motrins and slunk off to bed when they all left. I think I'm Maxine this year... Please don't leave a message and tell me I need therapy, I can't stand all the chocolate (too sweet for me, but I love chocolate cake and a chocolate malt), I don't drink coffee (too bitter), Retail therapy? I don't like to go shopping (you could ask my children about the 4 days it took me to spend a Dillards Gift card). I really just wanted to be honest and I just can't find a way to be funny about it today, but hey, it's Friday and Christmas is just around the corner. ps. Yes, honey, I took my hormone therapy medicine today. Maybe I should just get out of bed and start the day! ºÜº