This Time

This time, it's going to be different. This time, I'll be ahead of the game.

This time, all of my shopping will be finished before December 24, not started on that day. I've shopped for all but a very few individuals, braved the crowded shopping malls, and this week, I'll have them all covered. By the end of the work week, there'll be nothing more for me to do.

But wrap.

This time, it's going to be different. This time, I'll be ahead of the game.

This time, all of the wrapping will be done during the day, on Christmas Eve, not after dinner. This time, perhaps, I'll start on Friday night, on the eve of Christmas Eve. I won't be up until 2AM on Christmas morning, fussing with wrapping paper and tape, affixing tags and then placing the parcels under the tree.

This time, before the kids go to bed, they'll see the gifts already under the tree.

But for the one from Santa.

They know he's not real. They know their parents are that magical elf. But they want the spirit to remain, for a package that is not wrapped like the rest, that have that unique tag with the overly specialized handwriting: From Santa.

This time, it's going to be different. This time, I'll be ahead of the game.

This time, instead of locking myself in my room after dinner, watching It's a Wonderful Life and Scrooge by myself while I wrap those gifts, I'll sit in our family room, with everybody, relaxing in front of the TV. Drinking hot chocolate and tasting Christmas baking. Perhaps, we'll have the fireplace aglow. My eyes will be on the screen, instead of focused on the folds of wrapping paper. We'll have a new holiday tradition.

My hopes are high.

That this time, it's going to be different.