Crash.

It was bound to happen. We had been headed that way for weeks. Living life very, very, very close to the edge. Too many holiday activities, too many errands crammed in, and way, way, way too much sugar. It was getting ugly. The threat of Jingle, our elf, reporting bad behavior to Santa Claus had become meaningless. Overtired monsters were lurking in every corner. Bickering was constant and relentless. The kids were on edge. I was on edge. Someone was going to crack and I was beginning to fear it would be me.

But today, oh today was such a good day. No one came and whisked my children to the movies. No one delivered cookies to me. And there was no babysitter scheduled for date night. What I got instead was a fabulous surprise- two children sleeping this afternoon for close to three hours- at the same time. At first I did laundry, and puttered about, thinking the respite would be brief. As the minutes ticked by, it became apparent- the kids were down for the count. So I did a very crazy thing; I sat. I made a cup of Trader Joe's raspberry tea (highly recommend it, by the way. it has a very strong raspberry flavor without being bitter), hid in my favorite couch with a stack of loooong delayed Chrismas cards, turned on Amy Grant Christmas music, and lost myself in the joy of Christmas cards. Not just stuffing pre-printed photos into envelopes (although I have done that many a time and hold no ill thoughts for those who do), but actually writing personal messages. They weren't profound, they weren't even lengthy, but I had turned Christmas cards from a chore into a pleasant afternoon to be savored and enjoyed. Two hours later, my six year old stumbled out of her room and snuggled up to me on the couch. I was ready to set aside the cards, but I think Caitlin felt the joy too; she curled up next to me and drifted back to sleep for another hour.

We paid for this guilty pleasure this evening; the fine art of bedtime stalling was elevated to new levels in our house this evening. But was it worth it? Oh, absolutely. Yes, today was such a good day.