I complain a lot about the holidays. There’s so much to do and never enough time to get it done, but when all is said and done, I love the time that I get to spend with my family during the holiday season.

When I was a child, the holidays were more simple. We didn’t have to juggle numerous Christmas get-togethers or worry about finding the time to shop, wrap, cook and clean up in a limited amount of time. This year, I’ve complained about all of that. The second of my three Christmases will be tonight. I still don’t have all of my shopping done and on Christmas Day, I will be cooking dinner for 15 people, cleaning up and trying to find a way to get to bed early so I can come back to work refreshed on Friday.

When I was younger, all we worried about was how much time had to pass before Santa Claus would come and if we had been good enough to get extra presents.