Last weekend I drove through my small town, past the festive lot next to the firehouse filled with rows of Christmas trees for sale and families wandering through, circling this one or that in search of just the right one. I stopped at our fancy local market to pick up the week’s supply of turkeyRead more…
I spent most of Sunday packing up my house in preparation for my move about a half-mile away some time next month. Gone now are the hundreds of books that lined the shelves in my den along with my china and crystal and impressive collection of wooden cats. Now that den is lined with aRead more…
Both of my daughters told me at different times last night, after the Thanksgiving remains had been boxed and bagged on shelves in the frig and every spoon and pot lid had been washed and left to dry, that it had been a better day than they had expected. “Why was that?” I asked. “BecauseRead more…
Here is the secret to staying calm around Christmas: plan a cocktail party five days before and invite 75 of your nearest and dearest. By the time it’s over — provided you have not had a heart attack at the prospect of all of those people standing in your usually messy kitchen — everything elseRead more…
Twas six days before Christmas and all through my house, I’ve got so much shit to do I almost wished I had a spouse. The stockings are stuffed in my mudroom without care In hopes that come Christmas Eve they get pulled out of there. The children will be sleeping until noon in their bedsRead more…
Does anyone hate Christmas tree lights as much as I hate Christmas tree lights? They are the bane of my existence. Even when I was married, they were my problem but more because I had a lot of opinions about them than anything else. I don’t know why I have to be so bossy aboutRead more…
The Elf didn’t start out as a thorn in my side. At first, he actually helped keep my then-preschooler – and the youngest of my four children – in line. If my son put up a fuss about going to bed at the appointed hour or carried on in Target about not getting a toyRead more…
The holidays are off and running around here. Last week, I was able to cross a bunch of big holiday to-do items off my list, like ordering Christmas cards, figuring out what I was going to bake for the annual cookie exchange (chocolate pretzel cookies) and spending so much money on Cyber Monday that WellsRead more…
Over the course of this past weekend, I had to yell at not one but two of my neighbors – both grown men – for causing me undue stress and anxiety. There they were, with the Thanksgiving dinner a not-so-distant-memory, wrapping lights around anything not moving in front of their houses. There were wreaths andRead more…
I was agitated earlier this week when I got a text from my ex-husband announcing it was his year to spend Thanksgiving with our four children. I had already committed to hosting the holiday at my house for my side of the family and was looking forward to the planning and execution of the dinnerRead more…