The Last of the In Between Days

I feel like the Christmas season is lasting forever. Initially it seemed that it went by quickly, but now things are in slow motion, and we have one more holiday - Genna (Ethiopian Christmas) - before we take down the tree and get back to normal. As it usually happens, I am feeling ready to wrap things up. In the beginning of the season, I look forward to the differences in our routine, to the time we spend together as a family and the traditions that we have. But now I am tired of wrestling with the extra recycling and keeping track of where we are going and when. The Christmas decorations have stopped looking charming and started just looking like additional clutter. I have been jealous of people whose in between days were done when the new year hit. But I will have my day of packing it all away, and soon. I won't be jealous for long.

We have had a good time this season. Nothing remarkable occurred, really, but we did all right. We engaged in some of our favorite traditions and jettisoned one. We got and gave some good gifts, we saw and will see some good friends, and on Sunday we will wrap things up with our Genna meal, for which we are having just one guest this year. (I can only make it a big event every other year, and I am doing my best to embrace my limits as opposed to feeling sad that I can't manage it annually.) I am ready for this. And I am ready for our usual routine to resume as well.

Monday E will go back to ballet, and the Saturday following that both kids will be back in their Saturday theatre classes. The following week, it will be all systems go with all the activities in which we usually engage. These in between days have been good, but they also serve to remind me how nice it is to do the same thing week in and week out. Lack of routine can be nice for a short while, but we all do better when we relax into a rhythm that's familiar. We will enjoy these last few days of freedom, and then we will breathe a sigh of relief as we slip back into our normal life.