I did not get done everything I had hoped to get done for Christmas, but just as the efforts of the Grinch in Dr. Suess’s classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, failed to stop Christmas from coming to the fictional town of Whoville, the fact that so many of the gifts I had hoped to give did not get done in time did not prevent our celebration of the holiday and did not seem to detract from anyone’s joy, and I had a merry crochet Christmas.

The first hint of a crochet Christmas, however, was this photo my son Simon sent to me while I was making crepes. As can be seen, it is a picture of my son wearing the crochet Assyrian helmet and beard I had sent him:

Surprised (and delighted) that the package I had sent just this past Friday made it in time for him to wear it as part of his Christmas celebration. After exchanging a few texts between crepes, I thought about today’s crochet options: Would I work on the barely begun hat for my husband, or plow ahead on the sudoku afghan for my youngest son.

Since the weather was all sunshine and relative warmth, I decided to plow ahead with the sudoku afghan.

First, I finished work on the second sudoku, weaving in and trimming ends:

With that task done, I moved forward, making and assembling as many squares as I could:

Like the Grinch, I lack the power to stop Christmas from coming even for just a day, even for a worthy cause, like getting everything that needs doing, done.

And therein lies the power of the holidays we celebrate. At some point, they become an entity unto themselves, and even when we feel that we have fallen short or are not ready in some fashion, the holiday comes anyway, and in that moment we find that wherever we are and how ever far along in our preparations we have (or have not) gotten, it is time to honor the holiday, and celebrate.