But I think that the source of her holiday blues
Stemmed from her oversized lists of to-dos!
Whatever the reason that made this mom sour,
She sighed at her desk and made lists by the hour.
For she knew all the mothers (and some daddies, too)
Were shopping and prepping and entertaining, too.
“Now they’re decorating their CABINETS?!” she snarled with a sneer.
“I’m tired of this holiday and it’s not even here.”
Then she rolled her eyes and grumbled and made some fresh tea.
“Why does everyone love Christmas? Everyone except ME?”
She thought of the wrapping that had yet to be done
The baking, the cleaning, the errands to run!
With dread she then thought of the shopping mall crowd
The line-ups, the waitings — never again, she had vowed!
She found herself uttering the stalest of all holiday lies:
“Pretty good! Just a few little things left to buy!”
The more the mom thought of this whole Christmas mess,
The more the mom felt her throat squeezing with stress.
“The commercialism! The spending!” she swiped at a tear.
“I’ll just tune it out and wait until January is here.”
The mom thought she’d been quiet about her holiday distaste
Until her daughter spoke up, with an innocent face.
She stared up at her mom and wiped away cookie crumbs.
“How come YOU’RE not happy when Christmastime comes?”
Then she got an idea! An awesome idea!
THE MOM GOT A WONDERFUL, AWESOME IDEA!
“I know just what to do!” The mom felt quite impressed.
“I’ll just do what I feel like! I’ll skip ALL OF THE REST!”
She bought the kids’ presents and stuffed all the socks.
She bought for too many adults (and tried not to balk).
She baked only the favourites and not one recipe more!
(After all, that’s what Superstore’s bakery’s for.)
She wrapped with leftover paper that she’d had for years
No need to rush out for new stuff (and wind up in tears).
She played MiniPops Christmas because it made her feel happy
She steered clear of carols that were dreary or sappy.
And what happened then? Well, in her town, they say,
That the mom’s Christmas stress nearly faded away!
She ate store-bought goodies and lounged with her littles.
They watched movies with popcorn and red-and-green Skittles.