Holiday Stress for Naught

Holidays stress me out.  Even Thanksgiving, which I love.  Usually we have to leave home to go to a relative's house for dinner.  Going anywhere with four kids is a hassle, let alone trying to bring food anywhere.  I always offer to bring plenty, due to the many mouths I bring with me.  Plus, when you have a reputation as a decent cook, one tends to get a wee bit vain about food.   Anyway, Thanksgiving always sneaks up on me.  Either the night before I find out that I'm missing some key ingredient or else I never really make my mind up about what I'm cooking until the morning of.  Maybe I perform better under a little pressure, I don't know.  This year I was in charge of bringing the nebullus "sweet potato dish".  I didn't decide which direction I was going with the sweet tubers until one hour before our scheduled departure.  What resulted was actually a really good dish. 

Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don't.  Actually, things always work out, but I'm always afraid they won't.  Will my kids look like slobs because I didn't have time to give them haircuts and I didn't pick out Thanksgivingy clothes?  Will anyone eat my food?  Will someone say something snippy to me or about my kids/clothes/food?  Is everyone this damn insecure?  The answer to most of these questions is no, and if the answer happened to be yes would it really be that big a deal?  I can already feel the nerves gearing up for Christmas.  What's a narcissistic nut-job to do?  Get over myself, that's what.  I need to focus on the big picture here.  My husband is an amazing man, I am a mother of four terrific, healthy sons.  We have a house that is warm and comfortable.  I have a job that I absolutely love.  Who cares about anything else this holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers.  And hey, if you're out there, leave a comment.  I'd love to hear from you.