Reflections of Christmas by a mother of three
By Jackie Garwood
So here we are again in the traumatic post Christmas chaos, counting off the days until the nurseries and schools reopen. Only a few days ago the cupboards and fridge were groaning with more food than we could eat, now the only thing groaning are overfull stomachs, pressing on over stretched waistbands. With diets looming (No point in beginning until the New Year), the cupboards are bare and another trip to the supermarket is inevitable.
Inside, the house looks like a land-fill site - scattered toys, games (Pieces lost already), half finished models (Slightly more taxing for adults than for the three plus age range designed for), last remains of paper, balloons etc. and strange stinking patches on the carpets and chairs.
Was a seasonal good time had by all?
Baby's first Christmas - Parents full of anticipation, she was only interested in chewing wrapping paper (good quality of course). Her pretty Christmas dress only staying on for one hour due to results of very runny Christmas nose.
Toddlers' second Christmas - Parents had to wait two hours for him to wake up (First time in six months has not woken at six am). He shrieked with delight on finding first toy (Large sit in car) and did not want to unwrap anything else, or leave car all day. His vocal abilities increasing rapidly especially entertaining to grandparents with new words - wee and poo.
Five year old awestruck that Father Christmas had brought most of the toys on his list and intrigued to know how he removed the screws and nails to get down the boarded up chimney. The new hamster turned out to be rather lacking in Christmas spirit and bit everyone, even through woolly gloves. It did encourage his geography though looking at the globe to see where the Siberian hamster had come from. Perhaps the hours of shopping and wrapping were worth it, we thought, only to spend the rest of the day watching him play with a large cardboard box that he had made into a tank. His vocabulary also widening as he informed the neighbours children that `Boobies are really breasts.
It is however wonderful to see different generations mixing at Christmas. The playdough came off granny's teeth very easily, not so easily out of uncle's pipe!
As for our presents, by the time I had bought my husband a fob watch, I had no money left for the chain to hang it on! I received a CD that my husband had actually asked for, and hundreds of smelly bath and skin creams, certainly enough to last until the next millennium.
So now time for the New Year resolutions. A chance to put last years mistakes and frustrations behind and resolve that things will be better next year. Will I change from an exhausted harassed mother of three into a super-organised calm intelligent person able to construct meaningful sentences and even find time to finish them? We will see. We can but hope.
Hopes for 1999
1) Not to be overdrawn (already failed)
2) To leave house at least once a week with out blobs of baby sick on my clothes
3) For social calendar to consist of more than toddler coffee mornings.
4) To eat fewer biscuits at coffee mornings and begin a diet.
5) To get more sleep by bribing toddler (Complete set of Teletubbies) or stop husband snoring.
6) To have lots of baths using smelly stuff.
7) To tame hamster, or return it to Siberia.
This article was first published in December 2008 on parenting website www.ukparentslounge.com Jackie Garwood is married to Dr David Garwood and we thank her for her very amusing article.