Falling into the Christmas gap....

Phew, we made it through Christmas! For me, the Christmas holiday is such of an embodiment of what happens when I get stuck in the gap between expectation and reality. No matter how low key I try to keep my expectations, this always ends up being a stressful week for me. There's a lot of excitement for my 6-year-old to process. She's off her game being out of school, having houseguests, attending Christmas Eve church with 100 other hyper kids, staying up late, not to mention opening gifts. I could see her getting wound up, stressed, and in many cases disappointed and melting down. It was like looking into a mirror at times, as I react the same way internally under holiday pressure. For all of the other Moms out there who wake up on December 26th breathing a sigh of relief, I am right there with you!

My favorite story to put the whole season into perspective is David Sedaris' commentary, The Santaland Diaries, which launched Sedaris' career after the essay first aired on NPR 13 years ago. His irreverent story about his life in hell working as a Macy's Christmas elf morphs into a knowing commentary about the way parents build up Christmas into a horrific "are we having fun yet??" frenzy. Hearing this story always makes me laugh and also warns me not to take myself too seriously. I've listened to all of Sedaris' books on audio. He's truly a storyteller who is best experienced in his own voice.

I am really looking forward to the fresh start that the New Year offers. I have a lot planned for Mojo Mom in 2006. Stay tuned!