My Night Before Christmas

MY NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

by Dorcas P. Hord

'Twas the night before Christmas and all thru the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even my spouse

The cakes and the pies and candy were made,

And my willpower was beginning to fade.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds

While visions of food danced in my head.

Papa and I had just settled down,

But thoughts of food kept spinning around.

I grabbed for my robe as I slipped out of bed.

I told myself the cat needed fed.

Then what before my sparkling eyes did appear?

"What are you doing in the kitchen, my dear?"

"Feeding the cat" (Now where is that food?)

To my dear husband, I couldn't be rude.

He had bought me a dress that looked so petite

And told me that in it I sure would look neat.

But whey do I have to torture myself?

I know I should look like Santa's little Elf.

Instead I'm inclined to look more like St. Nicholas

With a large tummy that looks plum ridiculous.

I've tried so hard to look skinny and sweet

Smiling at each customer I meet.

The bakery aromas sure must have calories,

Working all day in the 'cookie gallery.'

You know Christmas only comes once a year.

If I go off my diet I need kicked in the rear.

Christmas is a time to eat, drink, and be merry.

But then I'd wind up with more than I could carry.

Oh, why must I argue and fuss with myself?

I could sign up and help Santa's little Elf.

I peeked out the window, the snow was a falling.

The phone started ringing, a customer was calling.

"I need a cake and a pie for today."

"Could you possibly fix it right away?"

Let's snack, it is Christmas. Let's enjoy it too.

If you won't tell on me, I won't tell on you!

This was written by a sweet Christian lady in our town who owned a bakery.

And you could find some mighty tempting 'goodies' in that little shop, especially

at Christmas time! She wrote it in 1991 on December 1st. Could it be that she

had a lot of us 'pegged' with this love for confections and sweets? She was so

sweet to share her poem. She had copies made to hand out to her customers.