The Rockwood Files : The countdown: Procrastinating writer blasts off toward holiday
Posted on Sunday, October 1, 2006
The slight September chill in the air this morning made me realize what is coming. A slight September chill leads to a cool, brisk October, which gives way to a wet, cold November followed quickly by the deep freeze of December. And December means Christmas. And Christmas means you better have your shopping, gift wrapping and decorating done - none of which I have started. I welcomed the refreshing late-September chill, but I'm not ready for Christmas. Not by a long shot.
"It's three months away," I said, trying to reassure myself. "Three months is a long time. Surely I can be ready in three months. "But then I opened my calendar and stared at the finite number of blocks leading up to the holiday. And I knew "three months"was just an illusion. Saying that Christmas is three months away is kind of like looking at your bank balance right after you get paid. Sure, the number looks fine right now, but once you start mentally subtracting the bills that will surely come calling on that number, it's a whole different story.
It's best to face reality sooner versus later. So I'm not counting the weekdays leading up to Christmas, since weekdays are already booked solid with kids, work, school, errands, appointments, pickups, drop-offs and the countless other things that make weeks fly by. Without the weekdays, that leaves 10 weekends between now and Dec. 25. OK, technically, it's 11 weekends, but we all know we're going to lose a weekend to: a ) a nasty cold or virus; b ) a visit to or from a relative; or c ) digging through the closet to find something to wear to a company Christmas party.
So now the countdown begins. Oct. 1 always brings this same sense of deja vu because, somehow, I wind up in the exact same spot every year. Why ? Why don't I learn from past procrastination ? Why can't I be more like certain other people who had all their gifts bought, wrapped and stored neatly in a closet by the end of July ?
But it's useless to waste time with all the woulda-couldashoulda stuff now. The truth is I'm just not one of those people who thinks about Christmas presents in the middle of May. May is when I worry about the approaching swimsuit season because the Christmas season still seems light years away.
But here it comes, in only 10 lightning-fast weekends. It's time to get down to business. So I made a list, just like old St. Nick himself. After checking it twice, I've realized I have roughly 20 gifts to find, buy, wrap and ship before the big day. Then I've got to have the family photo made, order Christmas cards, address and mail them, drag the big box of decorations out of the garage and put them up, plan my son's December birthday party, and find a sale on an artificial Christmas tree because our old one leans precariously to the left at a 45-degree angle. If I calculate the amount of time needed to do all those things, factoring in the inevitable child's ear infection here and there, I should be able to complete the list in time for Christmas, provided I only sleep about 20 minutes per night. But who needs sleep, right ? It's almost Christmas !
I sort of like the hustle and bustle of the season. I like this crazy, mad dash toward the holiday. It heightens the excitement in a frenzied way. And, as the mother of two small boys whose tolerance for shopping expires after about two minutes, I've learned to lean on technology to help with the Christmas list. I wait until everyone has snuggled into bed in their Scooby Doo pajamas. I make myself some hot cocoa, grab my Christmas computer mouse and click-click-click across the World Wide Web in search of the most perfect, shippable gifts. It will all get done, one way or another, just as it does every year. And it will be fastpaced fun, just as it always is. Who knows ? Maybe next year I'll be one of those May shoppers who's ready for the holidays months ahead of time. But in the likely event that I'm not, I'll meet you back here next year - same place, same time - for another Christmas countdown.
• • • Gwen Rockwood is a regionally syndicated freelance columnist. Send comments to her at rockwoodfiles @ cox. net or write to her in care of this newspaper.
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