The Celebration Season Has Arrived!

In our family, we tend to have "clumps" of birthdays/anniversaries/holidays, and we are in the midst of a very thick clump right now.
At our address alone (so, not counting any extended family!), from June 18th through July 23rd, we have FOUR (4) birthdays and one anniversary (ours!). Other than the anniversary, there was not a whole lot we could have done to change this; of course, the anniversary happened first, so...
That can be complicated (and expensive!) enough, but when you begin throwing in aunts', uncles', and cousins' birthdays in there, our calendar begins to resemble a work of abstract art.

To give you an idea of the "evolution" of this particular season (and my anxiety!), allow me to present a brief timeline of events:
June, 1994-We are married! Who cares if our anniversary will occur two weeks before my birthday every year? Doesn't that just mean he has to buy me an extra-special piece of jewelry?
June, 1995-Our first child is born just 5 days after our 1st anniversary! Things have come full-circle! Of course, with this baby's birthday looming so close to mine, I may have to take a back seat in the gift-receiving department.
July, 2000-Our third child (and first daughter!) is born EXACTLY 2 weeks after my birthday and EXACTLY one month after her oldest brother's 5th birthday! Hmmm.... Two kids' birthdays a month apart, with my birthday thrown smack-dab in the middle... This could be interesting.
July, 2007-When the OB scheduled my c-section for 5 days before our daughter's 7th birthday, I began to panic (and not due to the surgery!). How the HECK were we going to do parties, cakes, presents, etc????? (If you've read my other posts, then you know that I am a list-maker and this kind of thing throws even the best of us into a major tizzy!)

I am relieved to report that two years later, the kids are thoroughly enjoying this birthday-cake-filled month. And, me? I am just happy if someone else makes dinner for me on my "day of days". Really.

The Christmas Holidays have also been a bit crazy since our fourth child was born (early!) on December 23rd, 2002. His actual birth day and his first birthday (and those Christmas mornings) were not exactly fun for him or me, but we have learned how to separate and really enjoy both events.; it DID take a bit of work to convince my son that the Christmas Tree was not his Birthday Tree, though!
And, now, we are happily faced with an addition to the season of clumped occasions this coming December! By my best estimations this new baby will arrive the second week of December, a mere two weeks before his/her brother's 7th birthday and Christmas. The panic has not begun to set in yet.

For now, I'm just trying to focus on how it will be "so much fun" to send out birth announcements with a holiday theme, adding another Christmas stocking to the collection, remembering to make sure that Santa knows that he has to leave a gift for the new baby, and so on.
THAT is the lesson I have learned in all this clumping: if you cannot keep your focus on the fun things for which you should be grateful, then you will become a bitter Mommy who resents the day(s) her children were born.

Yes, birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays are all expensive and busy things. But, all of them commemorate a special event in our lives; events that have probably changed us permanently, and hopefully for the better!

And, my kids may roll their eyes when I refer to them as my Summer Babies, Spring Babies, or (gasp!) Kissy-Christmas Babies, but I know that it makes them feel special and loved. I have even caught them using some of those terms when they refer to each other (e.g. "He's one of the Summer Babies").

So, I say, "Bring on the clumps!"!

Raindrops on Roses....

These are a few of my favorite things!
Pardon my "Julie Andrews Moment", but I was just thinking about why I don't feel like it's Christmastime, yet.
Yup, I do not feel like the Season of Christ's Birth is upon us. It doesn't matter that my tree is trimmed, my nativity set is up, my stockings are hung, my gifts are bought, AND there is a couple of inches of snow on the ground. I'm doing all the things I've done to prepare every year since I was a child, but I still don't feel "Christmas-y".

So, after complaining to my dear husband about this odd feeling (and receiving only odd looks in response), I began to review EVERYTHING.

Am I depressed? Nope. There are no terrible worries tugging at my heart, or true sadness to be kept at bay.

Am I observing all the little traditions that have added to the holiday merriment over the years? Let's see: we light the Advent Wreath each Sunday night, we read from the Advent Book, we have made our special donations (monetary, materially, and spiritually) already, the baking has begun. So, yes, I'm "doing" all of it.

Also, I have been playing Christmas carols non-stop since November 1st (just ask my kids!), so it can't be that, either.

So, what the heck is wrong with me?

And, then it dawned on me: I have been battling a nasty head/chest cold for nearly 3 weeks now. Hence, I cannot smell anything! Not the lovely pine odor from our tree, not the heavenly aroma of the cookies baking, not even the comforting cinnamon candles!
There I was sitting on our couch trying to catch a whiff of our newly-chopped-down Christmas tree, and I couldn't smell anything! As odd as it sounds, it's a smell that I love to inhale every morning when I walk into our living room. It's the beginning of knowing that it's Christmas time, family time, a "love-ly" time.

When I discovered that I couldn't smell the tree, I began walking around the house, sniffing like a Bloodhound hot on the trail of a criminal.
Candles? The label says "Cinnamon-Apple", but I'm smelling dust.
The peppermint patties for a special cookie recipe? Not a hint of minty aroma.
Aaahhhh-haaaaaa!!!!

Now, does this make me feel any better? Well, I don't feel like I'm losing my mind anymore, so that's a good thing.
But, I still can't "smell Christmas"!

Isn't it funny how you begin to realize that you experience life, memories, and nostalgia through more than just one or two of your 5 senses?
Irrational as it may seem, I know that whenever I hear a John Mayer song playing I immediately experience a powerful wave of nausea. Why? Because, when I was in my 1st trimester with my 4th child, Mayer's career was taking off and every radio station played his songs all day long. So, my brain associates the horrible morning sickness I was feeling with John Mayer (sorry John!).
So, while I was decorating and commemorating Christmas the way I always have done, one of my senses was being "left out", so my brain (maybe my psyche?) was not catching the full effect. Not only do my eyes, ears, and tongue tell me it's the holiday season.... so, does my nose!

So, I have 2 questions for you:
1) What are some of your favorite things at the holidays (any winter holiday will do!)?
2) Have you ever had a similar experience, where your *6th* sense told you that something
"off" with one of your other senses?

I can't wait to hear!

Oh, and have a very blessed and joyful holiday season!!