This morning I was able to get the holiday card finished. I think I have gotten more efficient. I was done with it in 20 minutes or so of editing. And I spent another half hour deciding whom to send it to (maybe 40 recipients in the end, not counting people at my current workplace). I'm kind of surprised more people don't send around these cards, especially the electronic versions. This seems to be a tradition that is fading fast, since people mostly just seem to put up holiday snaps on Facebook or worse Instagram. Or perhaps I am still sending e-cards but am not central enough in other people's lives to get their cards. That is a distinct possibility, but given that it is such a low effort to keep people on the distribution list, I don't mind. It's nice feeling a bit of a connection to the various people I worked with or knew in the past.
Since the grocery stores were open until 6, I did run over and grab some spaghetti and more tea. In a sense, that is also a bit of a tradition (the last minute shopping, though for food not presents).*
Our next door neighbours had a party and we went for a short time, before dinner actually. That was a new tradition for them, and I hope it continues next year (especially since it means no work for us). It was especially great to see most of the neighbours and wish them a Merry Christmas. I've heard that they used to do caroling on the block, but that seems to have stopped. The Easter egg hunt is still pretty big, as is Halloween of course, and, at the end of summer/early autumn, we do a big street party. That's a fair bit of tradition to live up to...
This year, my daughter wanted to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. That's a minor break with tradition, but I let her, since she felt kind of strongly about it. However, she no longer believes in Santa (already discussed last year), and we didn't bother setting out cookies and milk this year, though I suspect I'll have another cookie shortly, despite my vows of eating better. (Again, just too much temptation at the moment.) The kids are finally up in bed, and I think it is safe to wrap the rest of the presents. They agreed not to wake us up too early tomorrow, and we'll see how that goes.
Best wishes for the holiday season no matter your traditions, and best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2018!
* Then I went to the gym after all, since it was only open until 5 and not at all on Christmas or Boxing Day. I'm not going as much as I did before I got sick and not quite as much as I had hoped, but I think I'm still averaging twice a week. I will see what I can do to get back to 3 times a week and maybe do more exercise at home. What's particularly frustrating is that as the body ages, it just is harder to maintain. The level of effort I've expended so far has barely made a dent, but in my youth I would already have slimmed down. Anyway, I am getting more and more serious about losing weight, slowly cutting out things that are bad and not eating as many snacks at work. But my will power is definitely stretched thin, especially during the holiday season. Giving up Diet Coke (and pop more generally) remains a bit of a struggle, but I don't sense any real back-sliding. I cut my workout about 5 minutes short, partly because I was hungry (I had skipped lunch) and tired, but also because the book I was reading on the bike (Reve's The Evenings is so incredibly tedious (I don't think I'm going to be able to finish it)).
No comments:
Post a Comment