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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Holidays are supposed to be enjoyed....

...not create a mountain of stress and crazy running around.  Well, I suppose it is the embodiment of both this time of year.  I have been running around like a crazy person (getting NOTHING done on my book, which I had hoped to have at least the rough draft done by the end of the year...), and I am still not done with my shopping.  I still have my parents gifts to buy and a gift for A (my ex), and A's friend L who will be joining us for Christmas, as she would be alone on Christmas otherwise...and no one should be alone on big holidays like Christmas.  I am hoping my check comes tomorrow so I can get it in the bank tomorrow and have my money by Thursday as I want to finish my shopping (and food shopping for Christmas dinner too) by Thursday so that I can enjoy the last few days before Christmas -baking cookies, enjoying time with my kids & family, and all that jazz--I have had too many years where I am still trying to get the last few things the day before Christmas--not fun.  A gave me my gift early, a haircut from a great hair stylist, which I got this morning.  Mainly I got it early because last Friday I was going to go get my haircut and A stopped me, as it had already been arranged, and I said that I really needed it before Christmas because I was starting to look like a brown, stringy mop had affixed itself to my head.  Honestly, this is one of the best hair cuts I have ever had, so I am very grateful for A's gift, as the local discount cuts place could never give me a haircut this good!!  I have perfectly straight, very fine hair that does not hold a style at all (so a short bob style is usually the way I go--since I was like 4 years old), and this hair cut IS a style, and not a bob!!  I am beginning to think you get what you pay for, even when it comes to hair cuts with impossible hair.

I also received a beautiful pair of LL Bean winter boots in the mail from my best friend, and the timing could not have been more perfect as it has been a snowy, slushy weather mess the past two days, and my old sneakers would not have been able to handle it, so I would have been walking around with wet and cold feet otherwise.  Can I just say I have the most amazing best friend in the whole world?  She and I have known each other for 20 years (we were freshmen in college together).  We had a our first apartment together, we were the maids of honor at each others weddings,  she stood by me through the adoption process that created my family, and I stood by her through the fertility attempts which sadly have still left her childless, and we helped each other through our divorces together (mine after 7 years, hers after 15 years).  Though we have lived over 200 miles apart for over 13 years now, we still talk at least once a week, usually more like 4-5 time a week.  We still understand each other, and have been able to support and nurture our friendship even as we each have gone through multiple perspective, religious, and values shifting throughout the last 20 years (and have not always  or even often, been on the same page with a lot of things).  So, during this holiday season, I am reminded again how grateful I am for a having such an amazing, loyal and devoted friend in my life, who truly is a part of my day to day life despite the distance and the time between actually seeing each other.  I am excited to have her come visit for a few days between Christmas and new years.

Tonight I will be picking out a tree (I know I am WAY late this year in getting the tree, I usually put it up between the 10th and 15th, but last week was crazy busy and then we were away this weekended visiting A's family for Christmas (can I just say, building a good platonic friendship with my ex has been a great thing, as the kids do not be pulled around or miss out on celebrating with both sides of their family, and I also love my in-laws, and it is good to still have them in our lives).  I hope to get he tree up and decorated by tomorrow evening.  I will keep it up all 12 days of Christmas (which start Christmas day and end on the Feast of the Epiphany (Jan 6)), so it is not like it will be gone after next week.  I had started to put lights up on the house a couple of weeks ago, but had trouble with getting the lights to light, and I have not gotten back to it.  So I am looking forward to having fun the next couple of nights with preparing the house for Christmas with the kids.

Well, I have much to do today...so, in case I do not get a chance to blog again before Christmas, I wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.  May this advent season and the coming days of Christmas fill you with joy, love, cheer, and a spirit of giving, and may you ring in the New Year in safety, love, and an abundance of positive energy.  Oh, and if something more dramatic than an overall energetic shift occurs on this years Winter Solstice, the day that the Mayan calendar ends and the sun and earth line up with the dark center of the Milky Way, may you find yourself in the right place at the right time to move forward in peace, justice, and a sense of connection to your fellow human beings and spirit beings.