One Week To Go....

Today feels like December 18th.  December 18th is exactly seven days before Christmas. One week.  By this time, we're all so filled with the Christmas Spirit that our exuberance and giddiness begins to fade and morphs into fatigue and the crankiness of two-year-old before naptime.  I'm not talking about the last week before Christmas when you were a kid. I'm talking about the last week before Christmas as a parent. 

See this is the other side of the coin.  As a parent, it is our responsibility to bury the tree with presents but not mortgage even the slightest element of the lifestyle that we've all gotten used to.  Despite the fact that Jesus' birthday is right around the corner, we have to keep going to work, taking out the trash, paying bills and paying the same amount of attention to normal duties as always.

As a parent, your joy on Christmas day is the living cliche. You have to be happier to give than receive. You have to hope that your best effort produces big smiles, a few 'wow moments' and several 'thank you, daddies.'

Well in this case, it's a week before a big day for Daddy.  The anticipation is mounting.  Despite my anxiety, I have to keep up appearances.  I still have to work hard and pay attention to details at my job, I still have to keep up with reading and writing assignments for my classes, but my head isn't in it.  I'm still driving my mother-in-law's '99 Jimmy. I have to remind myself that I still have a life to live, and people counting on me.

I have to prepare for this event as diligently as I would anything else in my life, except it gets less attention than anything else. I still work eight or nine hours per day and I still have the semester's first round of exams coming up, yet this event could hold more rewards than both.

Maybe it's not like Christmas. Maybe it's my 'Super Bowl.' There is no next year. This is a one-shot deal. My Super Bowl happens the day after the NFL's version.  It has taken serious preparation to get to this point. I have given some big hits along the way, and I've certainly taken my lumps too. It's like the biggest game of my life, except I'm not happy to be here. I need to win. People are watching me. People are rooting for me. My wife is in the stands, and she's cheering the loudest. I'm going to compete with every ounce of my being. There's no consolation. It's not still a great season if I lose.