It's beginning to look a lot like bowl season

The Christmas season is in full swing around our house, and not a moment too soon for Faith. She knew that Christmas was on a Thursday this year, and she knew that it wasn't until after Halloween; so the first Thursday in November, she woke me up with an excited, "It's Christmas, Mommy!" There were many tears that morning after a clarification, and it had to be repeated many times before Thanksgiving. ("Are there lights on the houses? Is there a tree in our house? Do you see any presents? Well, then, you'd better hope it's not Christmas, because it would be a pretty poor one.")

Things are much more holidayish now, particularly my stress levels. I did have all my shopping done by last weekend, until Amazon threw a monkey wrench into the works by announcing something I ordered wouldn't ship before Christmas after all, so I had to rush around the internet finding a substitute (shipped from Lubbock via Fed Ex tonight, so should be golden). I have also been lamenting the fact that I haven't gotten many cards this year, although I didn't get around to doing ours until today so I was being rather hypocritical. Tomorrow is wrapping day (except for the shipment from Lubbock, of course). I didn't get around to my usual holiday baking, though. I really need that extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas! I think we get it back next year.

We put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving, and after I hung the fragile ornaments, Faith and Eric put up the unbreakables. It was Eric's first time to "help," and he would get an ornament for him and one for Faith, rush over to the tree, hang his on a branch, run back to the table for two more ornaments, hurry back to the tree, and try to hang his on the same branch. Sometimes I was able to find him an empty branch, and some I just moved when his back was turned.

Jennifer sent me this Wake Forest ornament several years ago, featuring the Deacon in all his bared-teeth glory, and when I hung it on the tree, Faith asked me, "Why is that man so angry?" After thinking about it for a moment, I told her it was mostly because his teams were no good. The University may be pleased about a third straight bowl, but I'm glad I bought ACC championship and Orange Bowl T-shirts two years ago because I'm certainly not interested in an EagleBank Bowl shirt, win or lose tomorrow. As I write, the basketball team is clinging to a top 10 ranking, but conference play doesn't begin until after Christmas. After the disappointing seasons they've had the last two years, I'm not going to raise my expectations until I see what they do against ACC competition. If they don't even make it into March Madness, I have no opportunity to doom my bracket by inking them in all the way to the championship!