It's Over!

Not really but the hard part for me is done.

The family dinner. I didn't even need to take my anxiety meds this year. Last year I was a mess so I was prepared but nope, not even a twitch. Merry Christmas to me!

I still have too much going on.

Bob and I need to go visiting and by visiting I mean friends who are an hours drive away. Bob's usually pushing for me to get up way too early, I get stressed out and then I'm grumpy. I always get over it and am fine by the time I get to our friend's homes and I'm always glad to see them and would visit for hours but, Bob has time limits. He has to leave before dark because he has a hard time seeing at night while driving. I have offered many times to do the driving but in the end, he puts up with my stuff, I can handle his.

Then, out of the blue, I hear from my childhood friend - haven't heard from her in ages but all of a sudden she wants us to get together. I'm fine with us getting together but does it really have to be during this particular time? Can't we get together in the New Year on a weekend when things aren't so crazy?

I should say that my friend and I drop in and out of each others lives lots and we've been friends since we were 10. So I'm not upset about getting to see them, it's just the timing. I remember one year she showed up about 2 days before *her* birthday with a birthday gift for me. My birthday was three months before. I told her point blank I wasn't buying her anything. That's one thing with this friend, I can be very blunt.

What I am struggling with is that at this point she now has 2 kids (they are probably 10 and 12), one of whom is a Godchild of ours. They've never really involved us with their kids much and I can't believe they are 10 and 12! I'm worried she will expect us to have gifts for her kids. There is that part of me that wants to get them gift certificates but at the same time, it's ridiculous. I haven't seen these kids in a year and before that it was longer. I can hear her family now talking about how I'm not giving anything to their kids and one is even a God kid! But her family is well enough off and her kids aren't hurting for anything.

My best bud is without a job right now so I spent some money on her young boy to help with Christmas and when my Best friend and her hubby were in bad shape we did the same thing with their kids. These are children who are probably spoiled by yesteryear's standards but I don't begrudge them snow pants or jammas or winter coats and boots. It's what we can do to help and we do it willingly because Bob and I don't have kids and their parents have us involved with their kids all the time.

Geez, how did we get here? I was just going to say 'still alive' and all that and I'm bending your ear so far I about tore it off!

Don't worry, I'll try not to do anything silly like go out and buy them gift cards.

Crap.

Bob's going to have to restrain me.

Ooops, just a bit longer - Bob is the ultimate Christmas guy - he loves every thing to do with Christmas and you could not call him a Grinch at all. But on this, he has ruled and said 'no gifts for them' because we never see them.

He's right.

I know.

I'm just bendier than he is.

On that note, I hope you had a great Christmas or at the very least survived it. Hang tough, we're almost into the New Year (course that's when things for me go from bad to worse - but hey, this part isn't about me!) so Happy Almost New Year! Hopefully I'll be back to bend your ear before then.

Hey, Bobby got me a new computer chair for Christmas - which explains this lengthy post!