Community Chat

[SisterSisto]

I guess I feel like whining. I dread this time of year and my husband thinks I'm crazy. He loves the holidays and in his estimation, the bigger the holiday bunch, the better! I feel like I get to shop for all the gifts, wrap all the gifts, buy the food for the holiday dinner, set the table, cook the food, then I get to put it all away, load the dishwasher three times and all this while everyone opens up all their "booty" , packs it up and hits the road. They all have other plans with other people or they have to get the kids to bed, etc, etc. Then, finally, I get to sit down and stare into space for the next 30 minutes.

So, here we go again, I will be making dinner for 18+ people, only this time we will celebrate the big holiday on the 22nd. My daughter told me that she just can't be out on the road with the two grandkids and her husband on the holiday (I understand this) and she said she couldn't make a big dinner because of the two little kids and the craziness of the Xmas holiday (I understand this), so "Mom, would you please host the holiday on a day either before or after Xmas?" My house is a smaller one (1600 sq ft) so once I get all the tables scattered for everyone to sit down, it's a tight squeeze. We've done it before many times and everyone seems to have a good time.....I guess I'm just tired. I'm not as young as I used to be and I would love to be able to enjoy the holiday. My husband has a son and also a stepdaughter, so all of that family will be here along with my sibling and his family. In amongst all these people, there are miscellaneous girlfriends and boyfriends of the nieces, step kids that love to come along for the dinner and gifts. It just gets a bit much.

I know I sound horrible but I guess I just needed to sound off. Do you know what I would LOVE to have for my "gift" or wish??????? A phone call during the year......just to say, "hi, how are you doing?" I tend to get phone calls that say, "mom, can you babysit?" or "Hi, can I come do my laundry?" or "My car broke down, I don't have any money to get it fixed." "Hey, can you come with me to the doctor's, I need someone to take me home." The list goes on and on and on. Everytime the phone rings, I cringe........"what now?"

Do others feel this way, or am I being selfish?