Bah, humbug?

I have a cousin who always wants her blog to be a place of encouragement and light.

This ain't that blog, at least not today.

Bear with me a minute, folks - this post is going to be a little rough.

I'm having a really, really tough time getting into the "Christmas spirit."

(Hey, remember me? I'm the girl who was "ready" for the holidays just a few days ago! Wasn't expecting a blue funk to get in the way, unfortunately.)

It's shameful, really, that I'm letting the concerns of my everyday life intrude upon what should be a joyful celebration of my Savior's birth, but that's what I'm in danger of doing.

I should be good to go - thanks to Sam's Club (and their small army of Chinese workers) my tree looks fabulous this year. And I got to hit a couple of Black Friday sales yesterday, before work, and I got Anna Marie a new coat (which she badly needed, and has already gotten) and a couple pair of pajamas (which she also badly needed, and which she also has already gotten one pair) and a couple of Webkinz (buy one, get one free!)

And tomorrow, Jason and I get to help the preschoolers at church learn their Christmas carols, and attempt to figure out the handbells, so they can perform in front of an adoring congregation.

And my gracious, in the past three days, I've watched TWO Home Alone movies, and The Santa Clause, AND I'm currently watching Elf.

(Oh my goodness - it's the scene at dinner, where he just downed an entire two-liter of Coke, and is about to drown his spaghetti in maple syrup! Wohoo!)

But, before we get to Christmas, there's just so much stuff. There's our town's Christmas parade on Monday, and Anna Marie is supposed to march with her dance school, but guess what - her cough is back! And lest you think that I can just keep her home, oh no - if I'm not in the parade, I have to cover the parade, and although it's been in the mid-50's for the past two weeks, the temperature promises to drop to about 30 just in time for the parade to start.

Yeah, my camera usually freezes at some point during the night.

(Monday night, when I have a meeting straight after work, and then the parade, and God only knows when I'll get back home.)

Tuesday night, I've been asked to sing at our church's Women's Ministry banquet, which is a HUGE honor for me, but also a HUGE stress, because it's what, three days away, and I have no song! Guess where I'll be tomorrow night while Anna Marie is practicing for her Christmas musical - at the Christian bookstore, looking for a soundtrack.

(Tuesday night, which is also the night of one of my meetings, which means I'll be nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs waiting for the meeting to be over so I can drive to church.)

And, someone very close to me got a call today that, unless they came up with a mortgage payment by 2 p.m., their home was going into foreclosure today. Merry Christmas to you, too, mortgage company!

(And lest you think this was part of the whole sub-prime mortgage mess, it wasn't - it's more of a health-related inability to work.)

While these folks probably won't be out on the street by December 25, it does certainly put a damper on any celebrating that was going to be done.

There is a good bit of drama going on in my family (no, not Jason and Anna Marie - he's always afraid folks will think I'm talking about him) and drama, if you didn't already know, always seems to complicate the holidays.

I guess I'm either depressed, or real close to it, because I've been eating everything in sight today - and it's not even anywhere near time for my "friend" to visit.

I feel like such a putz, complaining to y'all when there are so many others out there who are worse off than I am. I told you this entry was going to be rough, and I'm trying to count my blessings instead of focusing on what is wrong.

(Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah - it was our pastor's sermon last weekend.)

Sorry about being a gloomy Gus tonight, folks - just keepin' it real.

And, like everything else we go through, I just have to believe that this, too, shall pass.