And Monday is another day. Not a bad day, not a super day, just a day. I’ll take it.

Before I left the house this morning, I made a list of the Christmas Eve Cousins. In my husband’s family, every child gets a present on Christmas Eve from every family who has children. Thanks to Facebook, I had everyone’s name and age. I left the list on my desk with the intention of texting Middle Sister at lunchtime and asking her to go shopping.

That text message never happened. But I got home to find her (and the list) gone. I ran out to do some grocery shopping for the week, since this is the only night I don’t have a rehearsal or a performance. When I got home, there were bags of toys everywhere.

I am so very grateful that she got this huge chore done–and her cousins, I’m sure, will love the toys she chose for them.

Then, my answer to “what’s for dinner” was “hot dogs and fries.”

And the kids cheered.

I was feeling like a total slacker for not cooking them a proper dinner on the one night this week I don’t have to be somewhere. The kids, though, are happy for the hot dogs.

I like this article I just read at CatholicMom.com:  How to Stop Feeling Like a Failure and Stay Focused This Advent.

Hot dogs and fries are OK. Happy kids, even more so. We can have Advent-wreath battles just as easily with plates of hot dogs in front of us as with chicken piccata.