Holiday Stress?

(*Sigh*) My baking plans have been savaged by rain. I don't know how people in regularly humid climates manage it. Here in the desert, baking is a joy until the humidity rises above 15%. Then it's still just tricky. Actual rain? The relative humidity is now humming along at about 50% at the beginning of two days of rain. There's no reason to even attempt Christmas cookies. I've read that humid conditions cause cookies to flatten out too much - not here! They don't flatten at all - they just become little puffy sponges. Hence, no Christmas cookies from me this year.

I also have an ex-spouse coming on Christmas Eve and family friends on Christmas Day (surprise - we thought we were going to their house!) so we have a little unexpected hosting to do. And the toilet in the guest bathroom needs a plumbing repair so I really hope the hardware store is open on Christmas Eve day.

Not to mention the gifts that still need wrapped and - oh, don't get me started on the "some assembly required" items for my daughter.

BUT.

Despite all that (and I'm sure many of you are facing very similar things in your next few days), and despite the traffic, the last-minute purchases and oops-I-forgot-tape missions, I'm not stressed.

A little tired, yes, but not stressed. Frustrated because I really was hoping to use my new cookie cutters, but not stressed.

Why?

Because nothing that is happening in my life is coming as a huge surprise. The things I cannot control are relatively minor. What's to stress about?

Look, Christmas comes at the same time every year, right? You buy stuff, you wrap stuff, you send stuff, you eat stuff. Nothing new, right? In the midst of it, sometimes you forget stuff, because you're only human. And sometimes things go wrong. Would I stress about the toilet if it was July? Of course not. So why let it bother me now? It's a simple fix that'll take four bucks and five minutes. I'll get around to it.

As for the cookies, well, that's still no cause for stress. I've changed my plan, is all. I already bought cookies that we'll dress up a bit at home. I can still bake the pies. I can still bake the pumpkin nut bread. There will be enough home-baked sugar to keep us all buzzing until New Year's Eve. By which time it might be dry enough to bake some cookies! (Hey, my new set of cookie cutters has a tree, but it also has a snowflake and a bell - that works for the new year theme.)

Why stress? Remember the serenity prayer, children. Live it. Use your energy wisely on things that are important to you; you'll be healthier and happier.