Listus Interruptus...

Happy New Year, Everybody!

It's been a long few weeks since I last posted. The holidays were crazy, to say the least. I used to think it was tricky preparing for Christmas with one child. Then, as he grew older, I expected it to become easier. Not so. Now that Quinn is reading, or at least able to sound out simple words, it is increasingly difficult to keep lists lying about the house. And I am the ultimate list-maker.

And then there is Jake, The Unpredictable. When Quinn is away at school for those short three hours each day, I want to be able to fly through my lists, jobs and errands. But then Jake has other ideas. Sleeping. Eating. Pooping (amazing how much time poop can occupy). In the weeks leading up to December 25th the items on my lists did get scratched off, but not in the "Done" sense... more like the "Never Mind" sense. People I would have liked to visit; gifts I would have liked to buy; goodies I would have liked to bake; things I would have liked to make; decorations I would have liked to place... so many things ended up on the "Never Mind" list.

When friends ask how my holidays were, I have one word: interrupted. We would be well in the swing one one task, errand, event or gathering, and in the blink of an eye we would have to whisk ourselves off to the next. Leaving each item on our list unfinished and unenjoyed.

Next year, fewer items on fewer lists. More time spent at home, enjoying the simple things — baking with Quinn; wrapping gifts with ribbons and bows; endlessly hunting down the perfect gift before the December crunch; making one list: Things we aren't willing to sacrifice in order to make every Christmas the best one ever.

NOTE: I had to leave my computer a total of four times while writing this post, which would ideally have taken me about 10 minutes to compose, took me over an hour.