Now that the Thanksgiving weekend is behind me (I may be in Paris but I still function, to some degree, on an American calendar and worked "light" on Thursday-Friday last week), I am suddenly very aware that the clock is ticking and I am now in pre-holiday crunch mode. I leave for the States on December 13th. I am happy to be going home for a visit but the prep this year is going to be rough. Time to get my act together, ass in gear, ducks in a row, and whatever other clichéed metaphors you'd care to substitute, because I have a lot of stuff to do and not a lot of time in which to do it!
Last week I began my "Things To Buy To Bring Back To Paris" list; I carry my Moleskine around (what writer in Paris would be caught without one?) and add to it as new things occur to me. This includes not only certain products I can't get here and can't live without (I admit, the longer I am here, the shorter this list is getting but a girl has to have SOME standards!), but now will include a few special items I want to get for the three new kids in my life. We'll celebrate a belated Christmas together when I come back on New Year's Eve, and this way they can look forward to getting something cool from America, something none of their friends will have (hopefully). Think along the line of Jelly Belly, the latest Converse styles and American Pokemon cards, and you'll get the general idea.
Although I got the majority of my family Christmas shopping done during my summer holidays (nothing like wow-ing the folks at home with exotic gifts from places like Venice, Salzburg and Munich, instead of the usual stuff from Macy's), and have been picking up other odds and ends here in Paris recently, I will still have some shopping to do back in NJ when I get there. Not everyone in my family has a hankering for stuff from Paris and some people are just plain hard to buy for.
Then, I had to make an appointment with my dentist for a cleaning and to have a little "iffy" area looked at. I hate the idea of having to have serious dental work done at this time of year, with all the added expense of the trip, shopping, car rental, etc., but I don't trust have a French dentist (yet) and would just prefer to go to the guy who knows me and my teeth... and who just happens to be a very dear friend of mine from high school. I never thought I'd ever have an old friend sticking his fingers in my mouth and lecturing me on the necessity of flossing, but he's a good guy and a great dentist. So my first morning back will involve me sitting in dentist's chair for a few hours. Fun, fun, fun! At least I can get all the latest gossip on former classmates while I'm trapped there with a suction tube hanging from my mouth.
Between now and the trip, I will also be making lists of things to pack, but will travel light and stuff empty duffel bags into my suitcase to bring back the booty from the holidays -- both gifts to/from me and my own extra shopping. I am also thinking of the things I have in storage back in New Jersey, because one of the big projects I need to tackle is going through that storage unit and deciding what will eventually get shipped over here, and what I will have to sell, donate, give away or toss. Now that I know I'm staying, I need to be making some mental plans like this and getting shipping estimates.
And I have a LOT of work to get done here before I go, to hopefully wrap up some client projects and get others to a state where they can safely be put into suspended animation for the better part of three weeks. I really don't intend to work at all much while I'm back home if I can possibly avoid it, short of checking email.
So I am now feeling the pressure of the holiday season upon me. And with the pressure comes a mix of emotions. First, there is the anticipation and excitement of seeing family and friends again, and being with them at the holidays when we really do all have such a good time together. Then, the stress of trying to keep existing clients happy while simultaneously trying to line up more work to keep the cash pipeline flowing (all part of being a free agent). And also trying to keep some promises to myself about starting some of my own writing projects.
But the hardest part of all is, the part that already has tears stinging behind my eyes at odd moments, is knowing that I will be separated from Georges for most of December. He's got a business trip out of the country himself, from the 5th through the 11th, and I leave on the 13th and won't be back until the 31st. We'll get to see each other just that little time in between - that's all, until I arrive in time for New Year's Eve -- jet-lagged but so happy to see him that it won't matter to me one bit. The way things have worked out, it is just not feasible for him to join me in New Jersey this year, and my ticket was bought and paid for back in early September when I was taking advantage of low "book early" fares. For two people who can not even seem to go 48 hours without at least meeting for a cup of coffee so we can make contact, this is going to be, in some ways, the Holiday from Hell. We are already thinking of creative ways to stay in contact, and thank God for the internet, cheap 'net phone services and web cams to help us bridge the gap. Plus I've got a few other ideas of my own.
One thing is for sure, this is the LAST Christmas I will ever agree to spend apart from Georges. Because it's gonna be such a lonely and blue Christmas without him.
[sniffle] Pass me a mouchoir, will ya?
