All I Want For Christmas

Christmas is upon us. For weeks now, my family has been talking about what we want for Christmas. The kids are making their long lists for Santa and adding to them with every new commercial they see. 

I have also been thinking about my very own Christmas list. Of course it includes the politically correct things like world peace, an end to starvation, health...or even a million dollars, or a day at the spa. 

But here’s the thing. If I am being totally honest, I really don’t want those things. Sure, they are really important things, but selfishly, there are a few other things that I desperately want for Christmas this year. 

Without further ado, here is my REAL Mom Christmas list:

• I want to stop repeating the same thing over and over and over again and have one of the kids listen the first time. 
• I want to drive a vehicle without garbage, crumbs, and rotten food all over the backseat.
• I want the kitchen counter tops to be free of multiple piles of papers and garbage that we don’t need to keep. 
• I want to watch an adult TV show in its entirety without having to pause it 15 times because someone got out of bed. 
• I want to sit down with my coffee or my computer for more than five minutes at a time before someone says, “Mommmmm… Will you get me...water, milk, breakfast, a Band-Aid, paper, Kleenex, pants…"
• I want to look in to the kitchen from my cozy spot on the couch and NOT see all the cupboard doors open and every single light left on. 
• I want to arrive to church on time, and sweat free. Just once. 
• I want all the socks to have matches. Where are the fricking matches? 
• I want to have a pen in the house that works and that is kept where it is supposed to be in the drawer. Just one.
• I want to have one meal…just once, where the kids don’t fight over who gets to sit next to mom. 
• Even better, I want to sit down through an entire meal. 
• I want one day where I don’t have to watch the Disney Channel and here the song “Hey Jessie”.
• I want someone else to do the kid pick up after work. Someone else to wrangle the toddler and the two school-agers. Someone else to carry the backpacks, art projects, boots, hats, gloves, and screaming toddler through the snow in the frigid outdoors to the car.
• I want someone to listen when I say “don’t eat in the living room” and really not eat in the living room. 

AND…

• I want A silent night. A peaceful, quiet, calm night. 

There you have it. Mom’s REAL Christmas list. In the end, I know I will get perfume, a pair of mittens, or a kitchen gadget. And that’s okay. Even though whatever I get won’t be matched socks, a clean kitchen, a meal with no interruptions, or a silent night, whatever I do get will come with love. 

Merry Christmas!