Change of plans

Funny how things can change each week, huh?

Each week has it's own set of feelings and focus and activities, I find. Just an observation.

There's nothing bad happening, for those family members who might read this and think the worst. In fact, only good things are happening: I found out on Monday that my Austrian family will be visiting us from December 16 to 30.

I am thrilled. I haven't seen my nephew, who is 13, in a year and a half. And now we get to share christmas with them! Normally christmas is pretty rote in our house - we buy a tree from the same place each year, on the same weekend, and I decorate it listening to the same christmas CD as every other year. We have a dinner xmas eve, go to my parents' xmas morning, have dinner at my parents' xmas night, and head to my grandmother's place usually boxing day or so, for a night. My brother has a ripping new years' eve party, and we hang around the house and eat a lot.

So this year, where I'd planned to be quite low-key, in fact I'm going to go balls-to-the-wall for Christmas. I've booked off work as of the 19th, and will work my butt off until then to make sure the house is in good standing, we have room for everyone, everyone is appropriately fêted and fed, and there's a good supply of everything readily available. The work starts this Friday, when I head to IKEA to find storage solutions for the crap I haven't dealt with yet, and for all of our coats, hats, mittens, boots, etc. etc.

For those relatives reading this: they will likely not attend Oma's xmas so don't worry about having extra six-footers in the room. Not like we need any more of those.

We're going to hunt for a real christmas tree (sssh don't tell the neighbors) and decorate it together. I will invest in some decent xmas music, and retire the Madonna/BoneyM/Bing Crosby CD I've been making my honey nuts with since 1998. OK maybe I'll keep the Boney M. Just for him, he hates it so.

I will bake cookies, and maybe we will make candies - together. How very Martha. We will ALL enjoy the family fun-due on xmas eve, so fun-due for 9, and we will ALL head to my mom's for turkey christmas night. We will ALL unwrap our gifts xmas eve and we will place a few under my mom's tree too. I will hang out the advent calendar my nephew made me two years ago and fill it with chocolates for him (at least two weeks' worth). We will go skiing (if there's snow) and for hikes, and I plan on making my nephew walk the dog during the day, to give myself a break. We will drive up and look at our land, and see our shared lake in the flat December light. I hope they like it.

But between now and then, I have (let's see....) eight events to organize. Why does work stack them all up like this? Beats me. Sadists. I go all summer with very little to do and then BOOM. It's not even like they're all planned-for during the summer; they pop up like mushrooms throughout the fall. It's sick. By the time xmas comes, I can only hope not to be sick as a dog and completely flattened as I have been in the past couple of years. I have work to do people! Austrians to host! Food to eat! I am trying a new persona on for the next month or so - one who doesn't give a fig and rolls with the punches. I'll let you know how it works out.