I am sit I was reflecting on our Post Christmas traditions. I can guarantee you that they are not what you may be thinking they are. Sure there were the near weekly Saturday parties where we surround ourselves with friends, and then Christmas Eve and Christmas day where we spend time with both parents and In-Laws on a predetermined Schedule. Those are the great traditions. But the ones I am referring to are far more menial and far less enjoyable.
These events leads to Our Family's first Less honored more hated tradition. The After Christmas Cleaning, slash Stuffing, slash eBaying (this last one is new this year and hopefully will make my wallet fat and happy). After having two Christmas' My Family have for some years now been able to fill the back of our Van with gifts from Grandparents, and we love every ounce of them, but that is about 60 square feet of space a year. My house does not get that much bigger every year so it is my job to find places to put it. If the thought of putting it in the closet came to mind, that is out of the equation. I have enough kid’s clothes to put a boy or girl in clothes from newborn to 3T. Six 30 gallon containers to be exact, and this year I had to get creative to get it all to fit in that. I have always admired the Spacebags, but heaven knows they are out of my budget (at least in the quantities I need). So I did the Poor man’s Version, 2mm thick plastic trash bags and a Dyson. All I can really say is Wow, I cut down the space they take up by at least half, but MAN are they heavy bins now.
Then there is the most loathed of Christmas traditions. For some reason far beyond my comprehension about this time of year Isabelle starts to get a little sniffle, which turns into a cough. Then Caleb gets a runny nose, followed by a fever, and a cough, and some time in between or after those events Jen gets it too, but gets the adult version. Last year I wasn't so lucky and I caught it as well, but this year I am adamant about not getting it, washing my hands, not sharing food, taking running dives from their Grenade like Sneezes. I am doing just about everything short of Lysol showers and drinking straight vinegar (Dave Touse taught me that trick). This is the winter illness tradition, and I despise it. I cannot honestly say if I hate it because it puts a crimp in cuddle time with the kids, or because it always happens when I take extended time off, thus removing my Wife's ability to function on a level where I can leave for a ride of extended length and time.
So here I sit on Sunday morning, instrumental hymns playing inspiring thoughts of eternal greatness, the thoughts of last year where we missed over a month of going to church haunting the present and a half cleaned… Oh let’s be honest… and a Destroyed house. So much for cleanliness is next to godliness, at least not for a few more days. I secretly hate my mom for teaching me how to clean and liking the result, I have to have things in order, and that can get frustrating. But I digress; I am sitting taking care of Kids, spouse, and house. I love them all, but boy do I need a really good Ride and a Vista to help bring this all back into perspective.
These events leads to Our Family's first Less honored more hated tradition. The After Christmas Cleaning, slash Stuffing, slash eBaying (this last one is new this year and hopefully will make my wallet fat and happy). After having two Christmas' My Family have for some years now been able to fill the back of our Van with gifts from Grandparents, and we love every ounce of them, but that is about 60 square feet of space a year. My house does not get that much bigger every year so it is my job to find places to put it. If the thought of putting it in the closet came to mind, that is out of the equation. I have enough kid’s clothes to put a boy or girl in clothes from newborn to 3T. Six 30 gallon containers to be exact, and this year I had to get creative to get it all to fit in that. I have always admired the Spacebags, but heaven knows they are out of my budget (at least in the quantities I need). So I did the Poor man’s Version, 2mm thick plastic trash bags and a Dyson. All I can really say is Wow, I cut down the space they take up by at least half, but MAN are they heavy bins now.
Then there is the most loathed of Christmas traditions. For some reason far beyond my comprehension about this time of year Isabelle starts to get a little sniffle, which turns into a cough. Then Caleb gets a runny nose, followed by a fever, and a cough, and some time in between or after those events Jen gets it too, but gets the adult version. Last year I wasn't so lucky and I caught it as well, but this year I am adamant about not getting it, washing my hands, not sharing food, taking running dives from their Grenade like Sneezes. I am doing just about everything short of Lysol showers and drinking straight vinegar (Dave Touse taught me that trick). This is the winter illness tradition, and I despise it. I cannot honestly say if I hate it because it puts a crimp in cuddle time with the kids, or because it always happens when I take extended time off, thus removing my Wife's ability to function on a level where I can leave for a ride of extended length and time.
So here I sit on Sunday morning, instrumental hymns playing inspiring thoughts of eternal greatness, the thoughts of last year where we missed over a month of going to church haunting the present and a half cleaned… Oh let’s be honest… and a Destroyed house. So much for cleanliness is next to godliness, at least not for a few more days. I secretly hate my mom for teaching me how to clean and liking the result, I have to have things in order, and that can get frustrating. But I digress; I am sitting taking care of Kids, spouse, and house. I love them all, but boy do I need a really good Ride and a Vista to help bring this all back into perspective.
