I live in an apartment filled with other single mothers, like myself, and due to an active church life, I was able to socialize with many of them during our church hours. December seemed to slow down exponentially to us, as a whole. One would think that the holidays would speed by in a flurry of hustle and jingling bustle. Not so.
The majority of us had a slow, plodding, anxious December - and for good reason. One mother wisely commented that there was no reason to stress about the parking at the mall because she had absolutely no money that could be spent there. None of us did. WalMart, maybe, but never Toys R Us. Her logic was sound. "I buy a $6 Barbie at WalMart or a $20 Barbie elsewhere and in three weeks, the hair is just as tangled and the mini-plastic shoes are just as destroyed by the dog. They will forget they wanted that Barbie or that game. They will play with what will be opened. I will have guilt for not providing for their every whim, then in January I will congratulate myself for teaching my children about gratitude for smaller things and for not increasing my credit card debt. All will be well."
So, I ask, now that January 7th is here, do your children still mention that toy they didn't receive? Yeah, mine doesn't either.
