This time next week, it’ll all be over. The gifts exchanged…carols sung… Families going separate ways. Another Christmas in the books.

As we barrel down the interstate to spend the holiday with family, I am filled with conflicting emotions. I’ve spent the last week focused on to do lists and getting everything done before we left. House and cats covered (so no bad guys go case my house… It’s under surveillance and you’ll be caught!). Photo jobs done and completed. Christmas parties and shopping. Paying bills. Etc. The spirit of the season gets lost in responsibilities.

I miss the wonder of the season I had as a child. The anticipation of Santa. “Midnight” mass where I’d sing in the choir, and all us kids would all whisper about what gifts we already received. Peace on Earth seemed to truly happen for that one night a year. New dresses and shiny shoes. Dressing up that night was as exciting as Santa’s approach… Would we get home before he got to Texas??

I still remember like yesterday seeing a shooting star just after midnight on our way home from church a few yeas ago, and I remember closing my eyes making a wish… An extra special Christmas wish.

I miss seeing my extended family every Christmas. Photos were taken; carols were sung. (The biggest laughs coming from the “12 Days of Christmas.”) Gifts exchanged and opened in order of age — youngest to oldest. Books and horse things were my main loves. My brother the occasional remote control car.

Christmas in Texas typically was warm enough to go outside and play after dinner. New bikes could be tried out immediately, and I know a few toys were broken within hours of being opened.

However, as years have passed schedules and lives have changed. Christmas together isn’t necessarily guaranteed as it once was. The season no longer seems to last long enough… It passes in a blur and we are left wondering what happened. We worry more about paying bills than we worry about getting enough hugs. And it’s in that fact that I feel a tinge of sadness going into Christmas. But it’s also spurring me to strive to enjoy my Christmas holiday. To move a little slower. To disconnect from the web more. Worry less. Laugh more. Wear my Santa hat and dare anyone to stare. It’s Christmas… And a time to make more memories to be cherished for years to come.