You guys,
Happy Holidays!!!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, when my house fills with Christmas music, twinkling lights, and the swirling scents of pine and my famous chocolate chip cookies (if you’ve got six hours, here’s the recipe).
It’s also the time when my husband and I create our annual virtual Christmas card. We (mostly I) choose a Christmas song, plan the scenes, map the choreography, pick out costumes, perform, and edit it down to a 2-minute clip.
It’s literally my favorite thing to do, yet each year I get more and more stressed out while doing it because I’m a stickler for perfection. I told Sam, “I have a reputation to uphold!” To which he responded, “I don’t!”
This is true. Sam is along for the ride but doesn’t really care if he nails the lip sync. I, on the other hand, flip my shit every time I miss a word.
Throw a baby into the mix and the whole thing turned into a real crap shoot. George did not want to cooperate, especially as we neared his bedtime. There were multiple tantrums. From both of us.
On the last day (we shot six scenes in four days), Sam had enough of my stress over the whole thing. He announced, “If this isn’t going to be fun, we shouldn’t do it anymore.” I told him through clenched teeth and stiff shoulders that I was having fun.
When it was over, we were thrilled with the finished product. Our favorite parts were all the unplanned, unchoreographed “mess-ups.” It’s always the hiccups and bloopers we enjoy the most, and I somehow always forget that.
So moving forward there’s a new rule for the annual Christmas card: all fun and no stress. It’s something special to look back each year and watch these videos we made together. The memories attached should be images of us laughing and having fun, not me yelling at Sam because George is crying in my arms and only wants his Papa (you’d think I’d be used to it by now).
Essay of the Week
Last week I mentioned how obnoxious my brother-in-law was on Thanksgiving and how I saved the venting for my husband later that night.
This week I wrote about one of my favorite things to do with Sam: talk shit about other people.
‘Tis The Season
My mother-in-law put out platters of Christmas ornaments. As decoration.
I can’t decide if this is completely ridiculous or absolutely stunning. Leaning towards absolutely stunning. What do you think?
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Until next week,
Charlie