A merry, proactive Christmas

I got up at 6 a.m. today.

I tend to wake up a couple of hours before I normally get up, and usually when that happens I'll go to the bathroom and go back to sleep. This morning I was headed back towards the bed when I thought, I have things I want to do today. If I just get up now, I'll have extra time to do them. Gazing fondly at the bed, I added, There's nothing I'd rather do more than climb back in and go back to sleep. I love sleeping. But I'll be happier if I do this.

I don't know when I started thinking in complete sentences, but these days my thoughts are like a novel's narration, or a diary.

In any case, I got up--leaving the bed shockingly unmade--and picked an outfit, then headed out to the living room where Sean was still up and on his computer.

Half asleep, I sniffed the air.

"I got hungry," Sean chuckled. "That's what you smell."

Ah, I thought, ramen.

Setting my chosen outfit in the bathroom, I headed back out to the kitchen and for some reason started doing the dishes. I cleaned out the sink and emptied the dishwasher, and even washed down the stove and counters. Then I went to the bedroom and started a load of whites (and while I was there, made the bed).

Finally I hopped in the shower. By the time I was finished getting dressed and putting my makeup on, Sean had gone to sleep. (These days he sleeps on the couch because less light comes in through the patio doors than does through our bedroom window.) The laundry was still going, so I grabbed my shopping list and headed to Wal-Mart.

I got there around 7 and shopped until 8:15. Not only did I stock up on some supplies so I can cook at home for a change, but I also got some Christmas presents. This year's funds are slim, but I would hate to go home for Christmas empty-handed, and I was able to find some good deals that I think people will like. There are still four people left to find gifts for--the hardest ones, of course. We'll see how that turns out.

The total at the register turned out to be $50 less than I was expecting, somehow, which gave me a serious reason to smile.

The sun had come up when I wheeled the cart outside, but there was fog everywhere. I had to be careful as I pulled out of the lot and headed home, but it was beautiful. The sun looked like the moon through all that fog.

Now here I am, arrived home with plenty of time to unpack everything. I put the frozen food away first, then the rest of the supplies, and finally arranged all the Christmas gifts on the bed in the office/guest bedroom. I also laid out the new cards I bought and pulled out my supplies for signing cards from last year--the ink on the gold pen is probably dry by now, but we'll see. I'm hideously late on cards this year, and I still need to go get stamps, but if I manage to mail them tomorrow, hopefully they won't arrive too long after Christmas.

The other day I was feeling overwhelmed and I thought, Maybe I shouldn't even try to make cookies this year. I have so much else to do. Committing myself to making cookies will just stress me out more.

That may be the case, but I'm not going to call it quits just yet. If it happens this week that I feel up to it, I'll bake some cookies. It would just feel strange not to.

Plus, I've had tins for them sitting around the office for months!