Even though I denied they were coming right up until the very end, the holidays came and went.  I waited until nearly the absolute moment before buying most of the gifts that I gave.  I did my grocery shopping on Christmas Eve.  Like the afternoon of Christmas Eve.  Nearly everything that I “cooked” was of the pre-made variety.  We got a spiral-cut honey ham, you know the kind.  Our side items and desserts came directly from the counter at Fresh Market.   Don’t get me wrong — I was way less stressed out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day than in any year in recent memory.  I kinda did the same thing for Thanksgiving.  <Gasp.>

I’m not sure what’s up with that trend, but I’m whole-heartedly against it.  It’s time to snap out of it.  The holidays are over.  The post-holiday recovery period is over, too.  Time to get back to basics and back to what’s important: family, memories, time together.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to do ALL the shopping for my son’s ninth birthday, which is tomorrow……