When counting the number of days until Christmas, do we include this day? How about the actual day of Christmas? Should I only count up to Christmas Eve, since that's really the high peak of the nearly Christmas climax? Do we include Saturdays in the count, because those days before Christmas are often so full of Christmasness that they don't seem like the long waiting days that are Mondays and Wednesdays.
I count from tomorrow and stop at Christmas Eve, unless today is dragging and really sucky. If the day is going badly then I count it, but it might make sense to not add an extra day; a bad day is like a setback in Christmas preparedness. Counting the days until Christmas is really about two emotions: Anticipation, and Dread. Little kids and obsessively organized people are anticipating Christmas, so they look for the short count. People who dream big, but trip up at the starting gate are looking for ways to stretch the time left before the main event; there is a distinct element of dread.
Right now, I feel that there are 14 days until Christmas. And I vow: No last minute shopping on Christmas Eve or hopeless attempts to bake 12 dozen different cookie recipes. 14 days may be too few to achieve the cover of Better Homes and Gardens in my own home, and there are definitely more things to do, than are finished. Perhaps if I stop counting the number of days until Christmas, and start making the days count, then I will feel good cheer, and joy.
14 days...I really should be a little bit freaked out about this...