'Twas the Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
In the Shumway household
There were presents to wrap
And laundry to fold 

The children were wired
And wouldn’t go to bed
While visions of serenity
Were erased from my head 

With Andy at wit’s end
I thought I might snap
The toddler was crying
‘Cuz we blew off his nap 

When over in the playroom
There arose such a clatter
We sprang from the kitchen
To see what was the matter 

The tree was knocked over!
The ornaments had shattered!
But the kids were just laughing
And that’s all that mattered

A calm feeling took over
And I started to smile
The Christmas spirit had arrived
It just took a while 

Taking stock of my blessings
Over the past year
I knew that our family
Had nothing to fear 

We’d made it through fourth grade
And kindergarten as well
And Quinn was still flourishing
From what we could tell 

A few colds and infections
And pneumonia times two
Couldn’t take down the Shumways
(Though we still fear the flu) 

Baseball and soccer
And now Metro West hoops
When schedules would change
We’d just rally the troops 

A new job and commute
Had me running around
But a flexible husband
Kept my feet on the ground 

And speaking of Andy
If you had missed it by chance
He came out the big winner
When he proved he could DANCE!

So with a tree on the ground
I just shook my head
We’re together and happy
I had nothing to dread 

We played music and sang
Hung each white light and bow
And a true Christmas miracle,
It had started to snow 

It was then that I realized
We were winning the game
So I turned to my family
And called them by name 

“Hey Andy! Hey Georgia!
Hey Ben-o and Quinn!
Give me one family hug
Before we turn in.” 

Though our life was quite hectic
The last year was a blur
I couldn’t help feeling
How lucky we were

Thanks to good friends and family
Through the storm I’ve stayed calm
So Merry Christmas to all
From this “Tireless” Mom.