Christmas Gumption

I can feel it; the all to familiar lump in the throat and formation of a tear. If I see just one more soppy Christmas ad/commercial, I think I'm going to throw the tv out the window. Seriously, how many times can a sad and lonely snowman, accompanied by a haunting melody make me well up? Is there anything like the month of December for making a girl feel more 'Bridget Jones-esq'?

I made it through last Christmas 'man free' without too much difficulty. Why is it that this year with Christmas looming, I am feeling more apprehensive than I was last year? Is it that I have a firmer grip on reality this year and fully understand my new found 'divorcee' status. (What an awful word! Divorcee - conjures up a desperate image.) Who wants to deal with reality anyway? I think I'd rather cocoon myself in a parallel world for the next few weeks. A world where during story time with the kids, there is nothing more taxing to think about than; how can a children's book get away with the following sentence? "He was about to do a poo, always his first act of the day, but seeing what stood below him, he refrained." (Dinosaur Trouble by Dick King Smith) Or, when singing the song, Miss Polly had a dolly, wondering, when was the last time you heard of a doctor making house calls?

However, seeing as I have four children, there is going to be no escaping the holiday season and so I shall focus less on the reality of my situation and more on grabbing a firm grasp of my gumption and powering on through. The advent calendars were purchased the day before needed and we have come up with a list of 24 family Christmas activities to take us through to Christmas day. (These range from driving round the neighbourhood to look at the Christmas lights, making Christmas cookies and decorating the house to having a clear out and donating toys to charity.)

I can do this! I can focus on the children and those who are less fortunate than myself. I can endure the endless Christmas movies with their 'happy ever afters', the candlelit carol concerts, the tearjerker nativity plays, the loud family gatherings, the jovial drinks with friends, the plummeting bank balance, the last minute dash to the shops for batteries or tinned chestnuts and a partridge in a pear tree! How hard can it be?

P.S. I shall also put any notion of bumping into 'Mr Darcy with or without the obligatory reindeer jumper' firmly out of my mind.