Drowning In Illness:: Holiday Recap

I forgot to check the last time I made a post. But I can be almost certain it was before October 2016, right?

We have had almost non stop illness since October/November. Thanksgiving thru now has found someone sick on every single day it seems. Although, it takes me longer to recover from the stress and overwhelm of having sick kids, so I always feel like they are sicker longer than they are because I'm still forced to try to recover.

Top that off with an extra dose of naughtiness (maybe due to the sickness?) and it has made for one heck of a fall/winter so far. We don't normally get sick very often, so this has been very unusual and taxing. And we don't seem to be alone, so many people are sick, even up to the Queen.

I managed to get most of normal Christmas stuff done. However it took me much much longer than normal. One kid won't stay in bed in the morning, one kid won't stay in bed at night, and yet another won't even go to sleep or stop crying long enough for me to wrap presents. It was interesting, having to spread it all out over several days and weeks. I don't like it. 

I still have a few presents to wrap. Luckily, my siblings didn't come for Christmas, so all their presents are still here, even if some are unwrapped. I hope to get to them, but it's really hard. I even had to finish a present for my dad and was kinda glad I didn't see them on Christmas because I couldn't finish in time. 

It was hectic.
I was stressed.
I've been and continue to be overwhelmed.

I don't like it.

My husband is being patient with me about the tree being up. I don't want to take it down before my siblings have been here and done presents. It is fine to maintain it being up. But with undetermined plans for my siblings whether they will come up or not, I don't know how long we will have to wait.

Part of the problem too has been the weather. With a huge Christmas day storm, and then a storm New Years night - 2nd as well, it left pretty much little to no travel safety for them to come here. My brother was off all week but his girlfriend wasn't, so they couldnt come up either when the weather was good.

It's hard to not feel as if I'm just not a priority to some people. This isn't just about Christmas or New Years, I feel like this often. If someone hasn't talked to me in a while, or something like that, I get all confused as to what the "rules" are of our friendship. I mean, to me, a friend should talk to you, think about you, post silly things to you (see the online friendship rule there?), and send you pictures or something. They should be interested in what you are interested in.

When they aren't, I just automatically assume our friendship isn't close, or worthy of paying attention to, or something. Like, distance (which is true of 99.9% of all my friendships) keeps them from being an actual part of my life, but online should help, shouldn't it?

I hate when things are always one sided too. Many a friendship ends because it's only one sided. If you are doing all the driving, all the present buying or card sending, all the talking.... and they are never responding, it's not worth it. At least, not to me. I mean, if people are on social media, and you comment on their stuff, shouldn't they at least 'like' your comments or your own posts or something? Something so that you know they are communicating? 

I'm kinda getting away from my talking of the holiday overwhelm,  and illness overwhelm, but alas.

I think we had a really good Christmas season anyway. We got great presents for the kids. Hubby's working for himself really afforded us the ability to do things we wouldn't have been able to before. My favorite part of Christmas isn't what I get anymore, but seeing people we know get things from us, things we bought and chose for them. Hubby's parents are so great lately, and I've taken a new appreciation of them or something, and we really got them quite a few things this year. The typical ornaments and pictures we would get usually, but MIL likes tablecloths, and usually only has the ones that hang down. They slide all over, and it's pretty difficult to use them with our kids around. So we bought them some with elastic in them, even a clear one so they can use it over their old tablecloths, as well as over their pretty table if they wanted. And puzzles. They love puzzles, and usually get quite a few of those going over the winter. One I had given to my grandma before she died, I gave to them. We actually put it together here at the house Christmas day. That was fun. :) We don't do puzzles much anymore because children, fingers, and pieces finding the floor. :P

Anyway, I keep trying to refocus on the joy people have had with the things we (I - since I do the shopping) got them. I just LOVE getting things for people and really the only excuse I ever get to do it is Christmas.

It's sad that it didn't turn out with as much family as normal, and that we still are waiting for my siblings. Still, it was happy, and full of those blessings we often take advantage of. Food, Warmth, Strength, Good Health (despite slight illnesses which in perspective are really no big deal), Having Enough and THEN SOME. 

We are truly lucky. Some days I realize that we are really lucky.