Helpers
What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other? -George Elliot There’s a quote for every week in my planner. To be honest, most weeks I don’t even read them- they’re in tiny, light colored letters and my eyes just skip over the whole thing. This was the quote for last week though, and it made me think of the ways people have made my life easier recently. First there was the big house cleanup last Sunday. While I was gone all day, my son went to my husband and said “Mom needs help.” Yes, I needed help so badly, but I hadn’t asked for it- but they saw it and cleaned the entire house in my absence. Then, on the evening of the 22nd, my daughter had a group of friends over. One of the girls asked if I had any presents that still needed wrapping. Well…. yes I did have a few! She offered to wrap them for me, and this is how they came out: The only problem was, next to these the other presents looked like absolute crap, ha ha. While my daughter was opening her gifts (which admittedly were shabbily wrapped) she said “I think Santa’s elves were underpaid this year.” Yes they were! Overworked and underpaid. I’m seriously thinking of paying my daughter’s friend to wrap all our gifts next year. Next up- we got this card from our vet: The entire staff wrote little message of condolence inside. Yes, I cried, and yes, it now sits on our “Charlotte shelf.” So much kindness in the world! What a nice thing to experience in the week of Christmas. Speaking of which, we’re still celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas, although the days are starting to get a little less sparkly. For the third day, we ordered Thai food and binge watched Severance. Today was a big football day. We watched the Dolphins win, then watched parts of the Eagles/Bills game (in between reading and cooking). For dinner, my son requested apps, New Year’s Eve style (since he won’t be here on New Year’s). Now we’re settling down to watch the Bears game. This was a fun day, but tomorrow (the fifth day of Christmas) will be a little challenging. My son leaves, which is always hard, and we’re taking down the Christmas tree. The problem with a real tree is, they start to look really depressing after a while. If we leave it up much longer, it’s going to look like one big Charlie Brown tree. It’s sad, but we’ll leave all the other decorations up for a while. That’s a wrap! How was your weekend? Do you still have Christmas decorations up? Top photo by Austin Kehmeier on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- Festive Stress
Oof. This was a week with a little of everything… stress, joy, excitement, relaxation, and sleep issues of epic proportions (don’t worry- that problem is being solved by a large bottle of Advil PM). There weren’t a lot of workouts, because I had to prioritize rest as much as possible. But I’m joining Kim and Deborah as always for the Weekly Rundown… here’s how it went. Monday I woke up supremely unrested. As a reminder, I finished a 20 mile run on Saturday night, and I did not feel recovered at all. I ran 3 miles and was relieved when it was over. At night my low back was killing me- I did a yoga with Adriene video, and it helped a lot. Tuesday It was so tempting to skip working out, but in the spirit of Festivus I decided to perform some “feats of strength”, aka an upper body workout. Wednesday Running-wise, I felt back to normal for a 4 mile run. Then I worked, hosted a dinner, got everything ready for Christmas morning… and collapsed into bed. Thursday Merry Christmas! We opened presents, and then I spent as much time as possible lying on the couch, reading and listening to music. A perfect day. Friday The best decision I ever made was to take Boxing Day off of work! I started the day with a 5 mile run.. and then spent a second day lying on the couch. It was even better than Christmas because I didn’t have to cook dinner- there were plenty of leftovers. Saturday Somehow, I did no workouts. I opted to sleep in as much as possible before work, and then at night my son and I had a Severance marathon, where we binge watched the last five episodes of season one. Sunday On tap… a run, obviously. And, hip stability exercises. Time to start easing back into regular life! My next long run is on New Year’s Eve, and I want to tackle it with renewed energy. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Have you watched Severance? Was your week relaxing, or stressful? (or both?)
The Second Day of Christmas
AHHH! I think this is the first time I haven’t been depressed on Boxing Day. I had a really nice day! It started with a run, and then I plopped down on the couch with my “fa la la” quilt and book. And we made a pie! It’s the apple cranberry pie from Sally’s Baking Addiction. Boy, it’s hard to make a pie come out right. It looks a little wonky, but the family reported that it tastes good. It was absolutely the best Boxing Day I’ve ever had. Tomorrow I have to work, but only in the morning. We have more fun planned for the evening! How was your day? Are you good at baking pies?
The First Day of Christmas
Did you know the “Twelve Days of Christmas” start on Christmas Day? December 25th is just the first day! This year I’m embracing the idea of celebrating for the full twelve days, and I would encourage you to do the same- especially those of you who have not received my cards yet (there are eleven more days, people!) Out Christmas (or, the first day) was really nice. We opened presents… I got all the books I asked for, plus this sweatshirt: Then the relaxation began! I lounged on the couch with my “fa la la” quilt, my elbow resting on my stack of new books, Muffin purring on my lap, and as I drifted off to a lovely couch nap I thought “It doesn’t get any better than this!” There was reading, eating… and football watching. Dinner was lasagna… and there was a cookie platter for dessert. It was a lovely day! And, the best thing I ever did was take Boxing Day off of work. The second day of Christmas will start with a run, and then include more reading and relaxation. And we’re making a pie! The festivities continue! I usually get depressed when Christmas is over, and I’m hoping this year will be different. So far, so good. Did you have a nice Christmas? Do you want the holiday to continue, or are you ready for it to be over?