Truths: The dirt behind Christmas

As I was on my knees yesterday scrubbing the toilet – I couldn’t help but think about Currier and Ives… You know those beautiful Christmas Cards we think of when we hear those two words together?

I just wondered who scrubbed the toilets behind the pictures they took. Everyone wants their Christmas to be like the ones they photographed and I just can’t help but wonder how they did it?

No one thinks about scrubbing toilets when they think about Christmas… No one thinks about the long lines or the shipping costs or the ribbon tied in knots around their fingers.

We all have sugar plums dancing in our heads because all we picture are the perfectly wrapped gifts, the basted turkey in the oven and our family sitting around the fireplace just enjoying each other’s company.

We envision this year after year even though each season we swear we will never procrastinate again – we will never wait until the last minute to do our cards, we won’t buy as many gifts and we won’t make a fuss about everyone coming over…

We must suffer from holiday amnesia because most of us fall short of our dreams and struggle to keep our act together days before Christmas.

The truth is – everything leading up to these magical moments is utter chaos. The wrapping marathon, the cleaning frenzy, the grocery scramble…

I have gotten up each day for the passed two weeks with a list and a timeline of how and when I will get it all done. Its like cramming a semester worth of studying into the night before finals.

The bright side is that my house is immaculate (at least my version of immaculate). My toilets shine and my laundry is done – in fact all of the sheets in the house are clean at the same time, my fridge is stocked (it hasn’t seen this much food since we got it), I will be using my pretty stove and our new bar is open for business (thank goodness!)

Everyone is coming to our house this year – in fact everyone is sleeping at our house… Too many than we have beds for – but that is okay… I am excited to have all of my family together, in one place, for a few days.

We will be eating and opening gifts and hopefully, enjoying each others company and maybe it will be so beautiful that Currier and Ives would want to photograph it. At least I know I will!