She starts in autumnal September. First lists. ‘Presents’, ‘Christmas Cards’ and ‘Food Shopping’. She adds another list, ‘Cooking Days Breakdown’. She really wants to write another list, ‘Expectations Everyone Has Of Me’ but resists. She knows what they want. She will do without sleep and then recover in the quiet months of January and February. So, she becomes Durga, the goddess with the ten arms, letting autumn colours pass her by whilst she multi-tasks. She shops, cooks, cleans, decorates, all whilst burping the baby and feeding the other three children and the cat. Online shopping saves her. She is creative in where she hides the presents, in the garage and the garden shed on high shelves. In spaces where her husband rules and the children dare not play.
In December as winter starts to bite, yet still hiding behind colorful lights and tinsel trees, she sends out a Christmas photo card of the whole family and the cat, all posed. The postage cost a shock. The father sends out a smug TikTok family sketch to that song by Slade, with glowing family faces singing Season’s Greetings with the cat dressed as an elf. The scratches from the cat he wears proudly as his contribution. The mother laughs and laughs before putting ointment on his arms and hands. He emails and WhatsApps the sketch to all. She loads up Instagram photos of the excited children, all smiles and goofy teeth. On Christmas day Google Pixel tacks best birthday party faces earlier in the year onto the necks of their Christmas jumpers. He tweets a photo on X and Blue Sky, of a table laden with Christmas food she had cooked with wishes for world peace and plenty for all. After New Year's, she finally starts to enjoy winter and sleep.
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