Why is it a surprise to wake up the day after Christmas and
be a little overwhelmed by the remains of the day? So much effort and
preparation has gone into making a holiday to remember, the ordinary things of
life have been neglected. Now it’s time to “face the music.” I have yet to
figure out how people have enough time and energy to rush to the after
Christmas sales. I've seen enough malls and stores to last awhile. However, I
am tempted to visit online stores and spend my gift cards. But first I must
deal with household clutter, leftover food, and paperwork. I tell myself it
will be easier to tackle the unpleasant if I dwell on all the joyful and fun
events of the past few weeks.
Then I remember, there are only five days left in the month
of December and the beginning of the New Year. Writing my last blog post of the
year suddenly seems much more important that cleaning up all the clutter. So I
back away from the broom and mop and try to get my creative juices flowing.
The lead up to the holidays started on Veteran’s Day weekend
when Frieda’s son and family came from Toronto, Canada for a pre-Thanksgiving
visit. Since the Canadian school holidays are different than ours, we had to
celebrate earlier than usual. Did you know that the Veteran’s Day sales are as
good as Black Friday sales? We ate and shopped until I dropped. During the next
few weekends we had visits from my nieces and grandchildren from Charles’ side
of the family. At Thanksgiving, Frieda’s college-age granddaughter came to visit.
More shopping, cooking, and eating concluded with the realization there were
only 28 days until Christmas. And you know the rest of the story – four more
weeks of shopping, cooking, and eating.
The remains of the day are looking pretty good right now. The
leftovers mean I have at least a two day reprieve from cooking; the household
clutter will eventually be put in order and I have a warm, comfortable house to
keep it in. The receipts will get organized and there is enough money to pay
the bills. Soon all of that will be history, but the warm glow from being with
family and friends will last long after the ball drops on New Year’s Eve.
Thanks for following my blog “Two Late Bloomers” this past
year. As I enter my third year of posting, I continue to be challenged to write
fresh and interesting material. Your feedback is always appreciated. My goal is
to do more writing in 2015. What’s on your agenda for the New Year?
