Peace or Panic

On the first day of the last week before Christmas, there was quite a buzz in the hallways about having "so much left to do" that was reinforced quickly when I hit the roads in the afternoon.  It was certainly NOT the "peace on earth" sentiment that one might associate with the impending holiday.  I really did start to get caught up in the frenzy of "still to shop for," "don't know what to get," and "only got a few days left" at the end of the day yesterday.  I took a "Lord and Taylor Friends and Family" discount card from someone who offered and I stopped by my beloved Barnes and Noble to spend far too much on some "last minute" gifts that were not clearly thought through. 
Then, my mother handed me a very small box with some very old but precious ornaments allegedly from my first Christmas tree to share with my own children as small pieces of the past.  These small glass ornaments will provide a conduit to the future that my children may not even fully understand - yet - but my mother and I talked...and spent time...and I listened....that is the gift she really needs.
While I didn't consciously think about the important change in my mindset around 6 PM yesterday, I know I left there feeling a bit more at peace with the world....and with the shopping, cleaning, cooking that defines preparation for HIS birthday next weekend. 
HOWEVER, I must have been back in that "panic" phase of a dream because I woke up this morning before the alarm with the words of the Grinch dancing in my head....



 And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so? It came without ribbons! It came without tags! "It came without packages, boxes or bags!" And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"