And thinking this will be the last year. I don't mean I'm going to croak (though one never knows) or that I won't "do" Christmas. Just that, short of a miracle, next year I'll have to do things differently.

I'm already exhausted, don't have half the cleaning done, and don't start cooking until Saturday. I'll have to squeeze in the "decorating" somewhere!

My husband helps, of course, but it's still way too much for me. Both of my kids and my granddaughter (all adults) have extenuating circumstances this year, and aren't able to be much help. I'm not going to make an issue of it. In fact, I probably won't even mention it until summer. Why poop the party?

It won't kill me, and we'll have one last "traditional" Christmas before I announce we're going NONtraditional.