Christmas 2007

I've been reading my past Christmas posts and frankly, having a good laugh at myself. You know, it's amazing how much mellower my life is these days. By no means is my life peaceful. I still dream of the days when I had quiet mornings with a cup of coffee (REAL COFFEE--NOT HALF CAF), James Taylor and the morning paper. When I made one breakfast, not three. Ahhh, the time I wasted!

But even now, by the standards of my early days with two wild girls only nineteen months apart, my life is predictable. I eat hot meals, I no longer change diapers, bottles are a distant memory. And while I type this in the middle of a huge Christmas mess that I'm ignoring, I can honestly say I enjoyed Christmas this year. It's the first Christmas in years that I enjoyed.

When the kids were little, they were so much work, Christmas just wasn't all that fun. The shopping, the wrapping, the baking, it was way too much added onto a pile that felt too high to scale. Now, the kids can feed themselves, dress themselves and tell me what they need. It's so much easier.

Thinking back, the hard times were really short lived. In terms of Christmas', it numbered three pretty rough ones. Of course, I still have my moments with two kids, but mostly now, the kids are fun. Side splitting, belly laughing fun. Sometimes a lot of work, but it's different now. The constant physical demands have lessened, but the their needs are more mentally taxing and emotionally challenging. Of course, I still feel like the luckiest woman in the world to call these two angels my daughters. And on Christmas, they will always be the two greatest gifts I have ever received.