Ever since I was a kid, I have been pretty fascinated with the Christmas holiday. Perhaps it was because school closed for a week or maybe it was the anticipation of Christmas morning. I think a big part of it was because I was always so hopeful that the magic of the holiday would bring snow. (but, that is a different post altogether).
My sister will tell you that living with Dori the Christmas Dork is pretty frustrating. For her it meant waking up at 4 in the morning, at 3 in the morning and at least once… at 2AM only to sit and wait for Mom and Dad to wake up at the painstakingly LATE hour of 6AM! It also meant that she was frequently dragged into a hunt through our parent’s closet for presents. Which, consequently meant that she was rarely surprised on Christmas morning (which she is still very bitter about). And finally, it meant that she had to open presents at same pace as me because she never knew exactly which presents or stocking stuffers had been purchased with us both in mind. Folks, she has been scarred. To this day, Sarah prefers to keep everything hush hush, lest she have any inkling of what is to come on Christmas morning. I can’t blame her though… my poor sister – it’s tough living with a bossy, christmas dork older sibling. Fortunately, she now has someone she can share these frustrations with; my husband.
For Justin, living with me means shutting off the Christmas music that pumps through our speakers from November 1st – November 26th (and suffering through the wild arguments and tears that consequently ensue) . It means hoofing it to our storage facility on a cold and icy Saturday morning in December to gather up and transport all of our Christmas decorations (we have 6 tubs) for me. Believe it or not, this year he actually dared to say “what would you think about not decorating this year?” He was promptly met with an icy, yet somehow tearful stare and said no more. For my husband, living with Dori the Christmas Dork means spending hours upon hours signing holiday greeting cards, wrapping gifts, pushing cookies through a cookie press and wrestling with both the christmas tree lights AND the lighted Christmas garland that hangs on our balcony each year. He is a saint.
When it comes to dealing with my Christmas Dorkiness, the only difference between Sarah and Justin is that Justin… had a choice. He knew how Christmas obsessed I am before he said “I do.” Whereas Sarah…she was/is just stuck with me. There are some redeeming factors to my obsession with this holiday:
