a quick merry stressmas

[SteveDallas]

Thank you, & right back at you! We've had our own special varieties of stress this year.

First of all, my parents are coming to visit for a week or so on Sunday. This is a good thing (free babysitting etc.) but is still an occasion for stress.

Second, my daughter began taking cello lessons in March. We had determined that she had progressed far enough to be able to play in the instrumental ensemble at church on Christmas Eve. Well starting yesterday afternoon, she was literally nauseous with nervousness. So it should be interesting... she is well-prepared, and her cello teacher and I will both be in the ensemble as well, so we'll be there for moral support and can make sure she's got her act together, but she is probably going to freak out if anything goes badly.

Thirdly, we will be skipping the traditional Christmas morning cinnamon buns tomorrow because Mrs. Dallas forgot to get any earlier in the week and, upon visiting 3 different grocery stores today, I discovered that they have all been picked clean. (I was also unsuccessful at locating candy canes that are not mint flavored, as nobody in the family likes mint except for me.)

We'll be leaving for the 1st of 3 services in about 15 minutes (in general, Christmas Eve is NOT a holiday for musicians!), and when we're done with #3 I predict the consumption of mass quantities of gin & tonics and martinis by Mrs. Dallas and me respectively.