Was it a crazy year . . . Sure was !! Everyone can agree on that. Between politics and pandemic the year basically sucked, plain and simple. I don't know if we will ever entirely recover from either one but both of these things were a long time coming and long over due. They were the wake up call we all needed . . . plain and simple . . . we have let ourselves forget what it is to LIVE well. We have all forgotten how to be kind, how to relax, how to get our priorities straight. We have become so wrapped up in the "Hurry Hurry" world that we have forgotten the importance of being human.
Enter Covid 19 . . . Everything came to a screeching halt last March and we were all knocked on our butts. We even forgot our political differences for a short while until we got back to playing the "Blame Game". ( Side note . . . And this goes for ALL of us . . . suck it up, admit when you are wrong and move on PRODUCTIVELY !!!!! Stop pointing fingers and blaming everyone for everything and start looking at yourself. Find answers and solutions within yourself rather pissing and moaning about what you DON'T like. ALWAYS find the good in everything. )
So we all found ourselves at a dead stop in life. Isolation became the norm and with it we were forced to slow down our pace and re evaluate what was important. (Apparently toilet paper was at the top of that list!) We suddenly found ourselves with a LOT of time on our hands. We rediscovered things we have been putting off for years. Cleaned out closets, baked until we gained forty pounds, read books, started crafting again and played board games. It was an almost good version of the Apocalypse. People started finding humor in life again and we remembered how to laugh even when we were scared and worried. The exhaustion of the season wasn't there this year. The pace was slower and people became happier.
And AMAZON made a fortune!
Because we had been "Self Quarantined" for months we learned how to reinvent our lives. Shopping on line became a daily adventure. We created billions of jobs for Amazon workers and we spent a small fortune, using money that we did NOT spend on driving all over creation each and every day. How amusing that we experienced the lowest gas prices in decades but had no where to go. Instead we sat at our computers and searched endlessly for the perfect Christmas gifts for our loved ones. We got creative ! With an endless source of ideas at our fingertips we found really unique things. And we found them EARLY in the season. Almost everyone I have spoken to has said that this was the most relaxed Christmas EVER !!!! We actually enjoyed ourselves ! How AWESOME is that ?? !!!
By mid November I had pretty much finished my Christmas shopping. The gifts were delivered to my door a day or two after ordering them. As the packages arrived we wrapped them and put them into piles for all our kids and grand kids. I wrote my Christmas letter the end of October, collected photos to make puzzles and calendars for gifts, (Thank you Shutterfly). My Christmas cards were sent out the day after Thanksgiving and all the gifts were wrapped and under the decorated tree by December third. Decorations were up, lights were lit and Christmas carols were being played through out my home when ever The Man was not around. (He did not grow up with music in his life and I really do miss listening to all my favorites music through out the year. Small price to pay for living with this really special man.).
By the beginning of the second week of December we were taking daily naps and relaxing instead of the usual insanity that would occur with the approach of the holiday. We baked some cookies but really didn't go overboard because we really weren't in need of the constant sugar rush. Cookies were nice but not high on our priority list. (I can't believe I said that!). We ate popcorn as we watched old Christmas movies and spent time talking with friends and family on the phone or computer. And we didn't plan a HUGE Christmas dinner. . . Normally it was "necessary" to plan and produce a fancy Christmas Day feast. The grand kids would open their gifts at home and then come to grand ma's late in the morning or early afternoon. Grand Ma would have spent the entire week before planning the meal, cleaning the house, creating the perfect Christmas Day experience. This year we had hot dogs and hamburgers on the bar-b-que. As was noted by my daughter . . . We had Fourth of July in December ! (Will we celebrate Christmas in July ? Who knows.)
It was the best Christmas ever ! Sooooooo relaxed ! Instead of all the preparation of foods we bought potato and macaroni salads, a bag of potato chips and some baked beans. We didn't spend Christmas Day in the kitchen making sure the roast was in on time and the scalloped potatoes were pealed, assembled and baked at the proper time so they would be done at the same time as the meat. There weren't five choices of vegetables that no one eats and the only time anyone was in the kitchen was to stand around and laugh. The kids played outside and ran off the sugar rush from decorating cookies and all the doors were open to the crisp "winter" (62 degree) air. The Man even dug out his Christmas sweat shirt that I had given him our first Christmas together. He has never worn it because it was too warm these past 3 years. The sun was shining, everyone was happy and relaxed and it was The Best Christmas Ever !!!!
Today, the day after Christmas there is very little clean up to do. The paper plates are thrown away, The leftover chips and dip are tossed and the two bags of wrapping paper garbage may or may not make it out to the trash today. The dish washer isn't even full enough to run a load through. I'm up early because . . . I really don't know why. I woke up to pee at 5:30 and just got thinking I'd like to tell you about my wonderful day yesterday. It's chilly in the house this morning so I'm sitting here in my recliner wearing my famous and fabulous "Fuzzy Pink Robe" enjoying our electric fire place and the quiet of the morning.
I am sorry there are so many people suffering out there. Whether it be from Covid or Cancer or any other terrible occurrence. I will say a prayer or ten for all of you. Suffering is part of life but even in that there are lessons to be learned and thought to be given on how Blessed we are and how seldom we appreciate those blessings. I hope you all had an exceptional holiday this year and I pray that we all learn something from all this. Wouldn't it be great if we could find this sense of calm and peace all the time?
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