Every day this week, the girls have woken up asking me, “Is it Christmas today? Today? This day, right here. Is this the day?”

Every day, I’ve had to let them down just a bit by saying that, alas, it was not. Still, they rebounded nicely when they tacked the next marker onto our DIY Advent Calendar.   Thankfully, the time has passed quickly.  Per usual, our days have been filled with school, shopping trips, French lessons, karate, visits to Santa, play dates, and lots of time in the car going to and fro.  Lots of time.

And yet, here it is, the 23rd of December, and I am blissfully calm.  Craig and the girls are out at the Y.  I had my date with Tony Horton after I cleaned the house.  Nothing pleases me more than clean, clutter-free counter-tops. . .well, there are a few things, but you know what I mean.

I’m breathing easy, because we are ready to go. The gifts are wrapped. The cards have been mailed.  The house is clean (at least for a little while), and the food has been prepared. The family comes in tomorrow. We’ve all done preemptive dietary maintenance so that we can enjoy whatever dishes pass over the table.  The sun is shining and I’m feeling really good.  Nothing left to do now but kick back with a glass of nog (*le sigh*) and admire my handiwork.  I feel like Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” when he finally sets the fire, dancing around the flames, announcing, “Look at what I have created!”

Sure, the dishwasher needs to be emptied, again. There are buckets of laundry to be folded and the inside of my car looks like dust bunny breeding ground, but so what.  The things that make the holidays enjoyable have filled my days and my home.  It may or may not be a white Christmas, but in our little corner of the world, it will certainly be a stress-free one.