Everything Christmas is packed away until next year here at the barndo. Isn’t it funny how your rooms seem so much BIGGER without the holiday decor? Still, it’s all a bit depressing. I miss the soft glow of the Christmas tree lights and festive decorations already.
Even Merida is feeling blue…
Like any big event, there’s an end date.
For any planned event there’s a build up that includes planning and work to get ready. Ah! Then the anticipation. Next comes the special big kahuna day, and once it’s over, there’s nothing to look forward to. Clean up is no fun either but once that work is done, it seems l should feel good. I don’t, and I’m not the only one.
After Christmas (and often into the New Year), it’s common for people to experience what’s known as the “post-holiday blues” — a period of low mood, emotional letdown, or fatigue once the excitement, social events, and break from routine are over.
We can now look forward to spring!
Although here in Indiana we’ll experience some cold and gray days over the next few months, we know that spring comes next. And who doesn’t like spring?
In the meantime, we should be grateful for the things that make us happy. Like… toasty warm floors from radiant heat.
Now you know: During the Industrial Revolution (in the 1800s), laborers often worked six days a week for up to 100 hours. In 1926, Henry Ford became one of the first major employers to adopt a five-day, 40-hour workweek, believing that leisure time would increase worker productivity and consumption.
We opened gifts here last night with Colette and afterward I started thinking about how gift ideas change as we age. When I was younger I only wanted personal gift items. Jewelry for the win — clothes, perfume, and even candles were great too. If I’d have gotten a vacuum sweeper, I’d have been incredibly disappointed.
Ole’ Dharma girl wanted a personal gift and was thrilled with her new monkey. 🐵
But I’m thinking about buying a skillet!
I did get a jewelry item but with my Amazon gift card I’m seriously looking at buying a skillet. 20 years ago I’d have gotten the cheapest one Walmart had for sale and bought something else with gift money. See what aging will do to ya??
I did have one gift that was sort of a fail. I bought Colette a Fahlo bracelet. I thought they were relatively new and pretty darned awesome. You pick an animal and can track it online while part of the proceeds from the sales support wildlife missions — the one I bought her was a shark. Come to find out, someone else got her one for Christmas and now she has 5. At least it’s the only shark one she has.
So I think I might just buy a skillet AND a Fhalo bracelet.
Our photos were again a fail.
I’ll still share a few anyway just so I can look back on them in a few years…
In the U.S., most people take down their Christmas tree between January 1 and January 6. According how I feel tomorrow, I may not be in the status quo.
When do you un-decorate after Christmas?
Now you know: Dr. Seuss’ widow had stringent terms when she sold the film rights to How the Grinch Stole Christmas. They included $5m upfront, 4% of the box-office, 50% of merchandising & 70% of book tie-in profits. Also, only directors & writers who’d earned at least $1m on a previous project were eligible.
My tiny family got together for Christmas last night on Christmas Eve at the home of those pesky neighbors. They were decorated for the holiday inside and outside.
The food was all great… they prepared everything except the deviled eggs (me), and HoHo cake (Tammy).
Someone else needs to be in charge of photos!
And I need to learn to stand in the back. The camera angle was pretty darned awful to begin with — I’m not really a head taller than my favorite brother.
First, I forgot to use the front facing camera so the resolution would be better. Next, there wasn’t room for everyone (even though there was only 7 of us) in the front room where the lights are better so we went outside. Crazy to think it was 65° on Christmas this year.
Every time I see the photo below, I laugh and remember Mom said it looked like Carl was on his knees back there. 😉
As we gear up for the next few days of holiday festivities, my wish for you is that your family — and you — aren’t butt hurt over stupid stuff.
Break your kid’s trust?
I read an article this morning in the Indy Star — an opinion written for human consumption. Basically, the mother said she didn’t want to “break her kid’s trust” by perpetuating the myth of Santa. She claimed that was one fewer crack in the veneer of childhood. She even said that when kids are told he isn’t real, tears of disappointment and rage could follow. 🙄
I don’t recall my Mom telling me Santa was real — and I don’t remember her revealing that he wasn’t. I do remember asking, and I recall a time I knew the fat guy probably wasn’t real, but I was afraid to state that as fact. I was afraid if I said it out loud, I wouldn’t get presents if I was wrong. My favorite brother, whispering behind Mom’s back, would try to clue me in — but he also told me that the police brought me and my parents weren’t really my parents. (Yup, he was all about Bill Cosby and the stories he told his kid brother.)
We currently live in a world where EVERYTHING is a big freaking deal!
I know I’m old, but it sure seems like everything must be earth shattering to garner attention. My “baby” is middle-aged and sometimes I still put “Santa” in the from box on name tags. There are way too many other things we do as parents to scar our children for life… and pretending there’s a Santa Claus isn’t one of them, y’all.
Believing in Santa didn’t scar my brother either as evidenced by our text exchange when I sent him the photo above this morning…
Now you know: Many people in Japan eat KFC as their Christmas meal.
Sitting at my desk this morning, I’m thinking about the things I need to do today since Christmas Eve is tomorrow. I’ll be at the Pesky neighbor’s house on Christmas Eve, then (maybe) Perry’s Mom’s house on Christmas Day. The meal at this table won’t be until after the big day (timings surrounding Colette this year), and that means the trees stay up until later than I like.
This holiday may not go as planned, but it’s still all good, right?
Perry’s lost several employees for various reasons within the last week or so meaning he may have to cover his store at times that conflict with our holiday plans. I hate it for him — but understand. I’ve never had a job at a place that wasn’t closed early on the Eve and all day on Christmas. There are others that simply aren’t that lucky.
Life requires us to roll with the flow and not stress over the little things, right? That why when I go to the post office today — to pick up the packages shipped via USPS that they couldn’t cram in my mailbox because they stuck my Amazon delivery in there instead — I’m not going to flip my shit. Probably.
Happy Eve of Christmas Eve! 🎄
Here’s wishing you a day where everything goes exactly right!
Now you know: The “achoo” sound is a learned cultural behavior, not a biological reflex. This explains why people who are born deaf typically do not vocalize a sneeze, and why sneeze sounds vary significantly by country.
