Woodland Idyll

I enjoyed the most relaxed Christmas ever:  I spent a couple of days with N, one of my oldest friends.  (We met in junior high when we were put in the same same homeroom because our surnames began with the same letter.)

N  lives in a fairytale forest across from the ocean.

Our Christmas consisted of good food (N roasts a mean turkey), so so movies and a constant battle to keep one elderly Chihuahua from pissing off three feisty and athletic cats.

It was my first Christmas without my Boy, and I was all set to be miserable, but N saved the holiday.

Today, I’m grateful for kind friends, pets and family.

Tomorrow, I can get back to worrying about everything 2018 has in store for me.

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The Visit!!!

Yippee!

My Boy’s here for a few days.

I haven’t been well, so our “low key” visit has turned “no key.”  It doesn’t matter that it hasn’t worked out as planned.  It’s tonic to this mother’s tired heart to have her one and only home.

Some things I’m really appreciating:

1. My Boy’s calm, steady presence.  While I’m by no means going through a crisis (just a blip), my Boy’s a good man to have around when the chips are down.
2. The big comfy chesterfield at the teeny tiny cottage.  It’s big enough for the dog and me to nap while my Boy sits at the other end, catching up on course work or (more likely) games.
3. Pizza.  I haven’t had pizza in months.  (Why do I torture myself like this??)  We discovered Coastal Crust downtown.  They sell pizza by the big, loaded slice–perfect for the gal on her own.
4. Friends.  Not directly related to my Boy’s visit, but my carefully curated group of friends has been amazingly supportive through this time.  Thank you, all!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

So…Monday was Thanksgiving.

I love Thanksgiving.

It’s the first long weekend of the school year (yay!), we’re into cozy sweater weather (cardigans–yippee!), there’s government-sanctioned family time (stat holiday–woo hoo!) and…turkey!!!

This year I was alone…for the first time ever.

My boy was going to come, but decided to wait for Reading Break next month because it’s a couple of days longer.

It’s fine.  I get it, but it did make for a long and gloomy holiday weekend.

I had to dig deep to find things for which I’m thankful.  (Other than a roof over my head, food in my tiny bar fridge and living in a safe and peaceful community…)

Here are the things that make my life a little brighter during difficult times:

The dog, for sure.  Her anxiety has been a challenge, but after a turkey, she is the animal I most want to spend Thanksgiving with.

My friends.  Do I wish they lived locally?–of course! But for once, technology is helping, rather than making my life more complicated, and it’s fairly easy to keep in touch.  (Last night N and I Skyped for two and a half hours!  It was a flashback to our multi-hour high school phone calls.)

And…that’s all I’ve got this morning.

Maybe it’s enough for now?