Down to the Last Minute

I remember when I was a kid the day before Christmas seemed to last forever. The hours ticked slowly by as I waited in anticipation for holiday celebrations to begin. Once I had my own children Christmas Eve never seemed long enough—especially the years I was hosting dinner the following day—as there seemed to be an endless list of last-minute jobs to take care of in too-few hours.

This year my Christmas Eve is a little less hectic. Except for a last-minute pair of socks my Christmas knitting was done in good time, as was the majority of my shopping, wrapping, and decorating. I’ve even had time to finish up a few projects this week, including the aforementioned last-minute socks for my sister-in-law, two other pairs of socks, and the Mondo Cable Cardi I began last month. And as of 10:00 this morning my February Lady Sweater finally has buttons after going six months without.

Most of today’s to-do list consists of housework of the there’s-no-point-doing-it-until-the-day-before-because-it-will-just-have-to-be-done-again variety. Other jobs include food preparation and freshening up our good clothes for tonight’s and tomorrow’s festivities. Perfectly manageable.

And then at about 4:00 this afternoon the crazy will start—good crazy but crazy all the same. Over the next week or so we will have three different sets of house guests (thankfully not at the same time!) and will be taking part in numerous family get-togethers. I love this time of year and look forward to seeing relatives from all the different branches of the family but I’m sure I’ll be more than ready for the calm after the storm.

And calm it will be. The day after our last guest leaves Cameron and I will be heading to Vancouver Island, where we will spend a week doing a whole lot of nothing in particular. I am already anticipating days spent reading, knitting, and walking on the beach. If the weather’s good we may even play a round of golf. After a busy year and Christmas season it will be great to recharge our batteries before real life kicks in again in the new year.

I’d like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and nothing but the best for 2010. And here’s hoping Santa leaves you some awesome knitting gifts under the tree.