We can plan all we want, but when our family comes down with a cold right before the big family gathering, it all kinda goes out the window. So the presents we had ready and the pass-the-parcel got taken to my mother to take to the party, the daughter accompanying me for the outing and I went out for a quick bite (we were joined by a couple relatives not afraid of catching possible contamination across the table), then it was over to our favorite Chinese restaurant for some egg flower soup for my husband, and finally we went home to listen to the coughing.

Thankfully it seems to be just a cold. Today my husband made chocolate chip waffles for brunch. My oldest had fun painting her nails despite a hoarse voice and gnarly sounding cough. My youngest has yet to feel any symptoms, which usually means she will come down with it the minute the rest of us are ready to return to life as usual. I have been mom: keeping cups full of ice water, tracking medication times and doses, breaking up little arguments between the girls, and answering the door when an aunt dropped some gifts off for us. The nap I took this afternoon was glorious, though. Not a single peek-in from a kid. Nice.

You would think with extra time at home that I would have finished wrapping gifts. Nope. I have been sitting on my rump watching YouTube shorts and laughing until I cough. Oh, I ran a load of laundry. And fixed a dropped earbud. And read aloud a book about the water cycle that was brought to me. And at least a dozen small things that are so normal that I hardly remember doing them. So apparently it hasn’t been as lazy a day as I thought. It never is, though, is it?

The presents will get wrapped. The stockings will be filled. Christmas will happen.

Just not exactly the way I had planned. But when you think about it, do most holidays go the way we thought they would?

We are together. We are mostly healthy. We are warm, fed, and dressed. We are loved. We have presents under the tree. And budding plans for a make up party around New Years.

With all that, I call it a wonderful Christmas.

I hope you have a lovely Holiday season, too, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or just a relaxing winter break.

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If you would like something else to read along the theme of things not going to plan check out my articles titled When the Plan is no Longer the Plan and Letting Go of Perfection.