It's not like I didn't see them coming. They happen the same time every year. And every year I start Christmas shopping in August (July this year even!) and still I feel the panic at the thought that Christmas is only a month away. Yes, I am about to be flung into unorganized oblivion.
My job:
I have to make it fun and magical for everyone.
Even the elf.
I have to appear to be relaxed and in control, as if everything that happens went exactly as I planned it, from today through New Years Day. That includes food, travel, baking, gifts for others at home and in faraway places, and especially teaching and feeling the true meaning of the holidays.
How did I ever get hired for this job?
I want to be a kid again, to believe in the magic of the season, that for some reason, crawled like an inchworm through each day, building my anticipation, grating my nerves through what felt like months of school, waiting, until finally, through the longest of nights, as snow flutters from the magical sky it dawned: Christmas Morning. We sat in awe on the steps gawking at the tree, twinkling in the magical moon glow of 4 am, dazzled by the beautiful presents underneath, all just for me (well, and my sister and brother too).
That two hour wait in front of the tree until my parents woke up seems longer to me now than the month I have to do everything I must do to make the holidays special for my family.
The hardest part is being the one creating that magic. It seems to grow every year, and become more and more complicated. Like a new magic trick, I am expected to peform to perfection, I'm trying to wrap my mind around how to pull it off without anyone guessing how. And my thoughts keep going up and down, around and around on that roller coaster, hoping to latch on to enough ideas and snatch enough time to get it all done.
Do you think Crumpet, our Elf On The Shelf, will help out?
Not.
Pesky little runt. He doesn't make a move without me.
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