…the night before the night before Christmas
And all around town
I drove like a madwoman,
knocking my list down.
The bank for some business-
some give and some take,
The grocery store for ingredients
for recipes to make.
The wine store to pick up
all that good cheer
for the friends and the family
that soon would be here.
A few last-minute gifts
I still needed to buy
at stores crowded with others
as last-minute as I.
Then to home I rushed
so that I could begin
the marathon that awaited,
that I hoped I would win.
The prepping and cleaning,
the cooking, the fixing,
the mopping and sweeping
The washing and mixing.
Beds to be made for
extra guests yet to come,
piles of gifts to be wrapped
one by one.
The tree, oh the tree,
is not even bought yet!
The decorations still boxed
in the attic with the light set.
SO much to do still,
SO much yet undone
the stress might kill me
in the name of fun.
So why do I sit here
at the keyboard instead
of getting started on the
enormous list in my head?
My brain is on freeze-frame,
my body on hold
until I slurp two cups of coffee
and gear up for the cold.
And then I will head out
and get ‘er all done,
and then we will have
the most wonderful fun.
So to all of you moms out there
in high anxiety gear,
let’s remember to take time
to be thankful this year
for all that we have,
and all of our blessings;
they’re the reason we’re frantic
with mental mind messings.
Please forgive all my liberties
with the onset and rime,
I am now truly out of time.
Off I go and I yell,
as I speed through the streets,
“Merry Christmas to all,
and save those receipts!”