I’ve always loved Christmas. But that hasn’t always prevented the whirlwind surrounding it from robbing me of the best part – the joyful anticipation leading up to it. More years than I’d like to admit the holiday spirit hasn’t taken hold until the big day itself, and then it’s over so quickly I’ve ended up feeling totally cheated. But not this year; this holiday season my heart has been full of Christmas cheer for weeks.
Of course having more free time to embrace the season has contributed to my bliss. Decorating, connecting with friends, dropping off gifts in those big blue barrels around town, watching dozens upon dozens of Hallmark Christmas movies . . . wait, what? Yep, you heard it right. This year I’m hooked on those all too sappy tales with over-the-top holiday settings and the expected happy endings. If you’ve wondered why I haven’t blogged lately, it’s simple: I’ve been glued to the Hallmark channel.
Continue reading “May Your Days be Merry and Bright…”
Hitting the pause button at the beginning of October may have been the best decision I’ve made since starting Chapter 3. At the time, a string of destructive hurricanes followed by the horrific Las Vegas massacre had dimmed my creativity. Feeling pretty down from it all, I not only stopped blogging, I minimized the amount time I spent watching the news and keeping up with the outside world. I greatly reduced my involvement on social media. I walked more; I read more. We still had visitors and plenty of social interaction so I didn’t withdraw completely. But I certainly took a big step back.
I always cringe when the front doorbell rings. Nobody we know comes through the front door, so, as I rounded the corner to the foyer I had already decided the person standing on my porch was unwelcome. I opened the door and a perfectly benign fellow looked up from his clipboard, introduced himself as an employee of our electric company, and without pausing to take a breath, told me they’d just need to cut our power for about twenty seconds to get a few numbers off the back of our meter. “No,” I sighed, shaking my head. “Please don’t.” He smiled. “We’ll be quick, maybe only fifteen seconds. It will be right back on, I promise.” When I tried to explain It was the aftermath I was worried about, he chuckled. “I’m sure it will be fine. We’ll be out of your hair in no time,” he said, turning to jog down the steps. Yeah…well, it was anything but fine. 
Happy Serendipity Day! Well, actually it’s tomorrow, August 18, but I’m posting early in case you want to wrap your head around it. The purpose of this whimsical holiday is quite simple; it encourages us to block out the distressing rhetoric swirling all around, and at least for one day, embrace the positive happenings right in front of us and celebrate the gifts of everyday life that we so often miss! Goodness knows we can all use a break from the non-stop negativity; so, count me in! 
I’m assuming National Sunglasses Day is another one of the hundreds of commemorative days intended to help improve our health and therefore, our quality of life. From what I learned on Twitter (you can see my research was extensive) it’s sponsored by The Vision Council and they hope to remind us that our eyes need as much protection from the sun as our skin does.
We fell in love with our adorable little fur ball the moment we met him last October. That’s the thing about puppies, they’re so damn cute they hook you before you remember the upheaval a baby of any species causes to your life. But by the time we drove the twelve hours from Erie, PA to Knoxville with the little guy, it was coming back to me. Still, I wasn’t too worried because my husband, Tim, had always taken the lead with our dogs. I did kids, he did dogs. That was the deal with the first pup, and I never saw a reason to change it. 
Seeing a sold-out summer blockbuster on opening day is not something that would have crossed my mind before I retired. But now I love having outings to put on my calendar that don’t have anything to do with doctors, financial planners or the grocery store, so when my daughter and I saw the massive Wonder Woman promo billboard in Times Square a couple of weeks ago we immediately made a date.
We all know at least one Debbie or Donny Downer – the perpetual sad sack that makes our stomach flinch when we see them heading in our direction because we know two minutes into the conversation we’ll be looking for car to jump in front of. I wish I was exaggerating, but few situations in life drain me more than getting cornered by one of these folks.
One of those silly Facebook quizzes popped up on my news feed last night claiming it could predict my favorite TV show based on my personality. I had never given much thought to why I liked the shows I did, but it didn’t seem too far-fetched that personality could play a role. It also might explain why Tim and I have found so few shows that appeal to both of us.