Have you felt that pulse of Olympic energy lately? Noticed the extreme athletic prowess on display in your workplace, the shops, your kid’s school?
Forget 2032, let’s pause and celebrate right now the elite performances of Christmas mums.
Yes folks, it’s December. Which can only mean one thing: there’s a woman in your life who has a to-do list as long as her arm to tick off in the space of just three and a half weeks.
Even more shocking, she may have already crossed it all off before this month even began. Which means while she was getting her work done, putting dinners on the table and remembering what to pack and when for the kids in the craziness of Term Four she was also preparing the entire family for Christmas Day.
I recognise it’s hugely gendered of me to say only women do this work, I acknowledge there will be some guys feeling the way I am (overwhelmed but also kind of smugly ‘on top of it’).
Though until men are the majority of those I see in shops, at children’s Christmas events, asking what nieces and nephews actually need as a gift or planning Christmas lunch… I’m going to declare December the official start of the ‘Mum Olympics’.
So what counts as a podium finish? Sending your kid to school with labelled gifts for the class? Bountiful presents wrapped up to the eyeballs? Serving up a Gourmet Traveller-worthy lunch? This is just the trim.
The mum who truly deserves to claim gold at Christmas is the one who won’t let perfect be the enemy of good. She’s not blinded by her lists but instead joins in on the high pitch squeal when someone spots Santa, and she is the first to notice elaborately lit houses as the neighbourhood leans into seasonal cheer.
Yes, the mum who can proudly put the medal around her neck is the one who uses these few weeks to enjoy the greatest gift of being a parent, being able to be a child again.
As printed in the Village Voice
*Images from the Washington Post