Monday

Well, either I have an internal will that is fantastically powerful against the invading evil forces of disease, or I was just plain lucky, because the minute the last young family members left the farmhouse yesterday, I got a cold. This in itself is not surprising. I'm around sniffling kids a lot and Ed, too, had something knock him down a couple of weeks ago, so we are running through the usual wintry mix of bugs. Nor am I particularly inconvenienced by it -- it took a little longer to clean up the farmhouse in the evening and I slept in a little later this morning, but otherwise, it's just one of those things that you put up with in the cold season (pun intended). But I am so glad that this happened after everyone left. Totally fine one minute, sneezing away once the door closed behind them. A miracle. (And no, it's not Covid. We test a lot and repeatedly.)

I do morning animal rounds, though a bit late.

And I fix a breakfast of leftover bakery items...

And then I settle in to think about what I need to do to get ready for Christmas. For those of us who have developed traditions for this holiday, December can be quite consumed by thinking about it, planning for it, and executing a fitting set of meals that span a number of days. Too, December means that presents for your loved ones begin to stack up. 

For me, gift giving is only within the family, but I know that the expectations are something else for working parents: gifts for family, sure, up and down the ladder of the old and young, but, too, for kids' teachers (my older daughter, for instance, has a total of seven school teachers who will be expecting gifts), your staff at work -- the list can get long.

At least these days you do not have to go out and actually shop for presents. There are gift cards that are possibly more appreciated by colleagues and teachers than any purchased items, and for the rest -- there's the blessed internet! I will admit it: except for a tiny set of gifts purchased during travel, every single one of my presents for family members will have come in a box, delivered by either USPS, UPS or Fed Ex. Thank you for doing the walking for me and for eliminating both the driving and the long lines at the check outs! 

But something that hasn't become any easier is the wrapping. Buying recyclable paper eases the environmental guilt for indulging this frivolity, but the work of boxing and wrapping does have to be done and it takes a while.

All this to say that I spent a good chunk of my morning not shopping for presents, but searching for lovely recyclable and not monstrously expensive wrapping paper. A waste of time you say? Maybe. But all the visual aspects surrounding this holiday are important. I mean, why else do this??

On December 1st (or thereabouts!), I will begin the wrapping and if the last years are any indication, this is when Ed starts pacing nervously as boxes mount. And with five grandkids and four adult kids, the boxes will mount. Still, he has become much more mellow about holiday giving. Possibly it's his love of these young faces in our lives, possibly it's that he has gone through this enough times that he knows that Christmas comes and goes and for most of us, December is the better for it.

In the afternoon, I pick up Snowdrop at school. I had asked her mom if she wants me to baby sit despite my sneezing and wheezing and she gave the thumbs up so here we are, doors open a bit to move they air around, but really not worrying too much about it, since quite likely the direction of this cold was child to grown up, and not the other way around.

And in the evening, Ed and I sit back and indulge in our beautiful habit of a movie with popcorn and a chocolate and for me -- some wine because I swear, the minute I take a sip, my sneezing stops and my nasal passages relax. Or so it seems. I tell you, we can talk ourselves into anything, anything at all!