Christmas that is. It was a busy time for me and noting how I feel after two days of prepping food and cleaning up after, (I did have help from Hubby), I am done all of this work, it is now someone else's job to serve me Christmas dinner. It is not only the physical work which is done, to me it is the mental preparations that start at the grocery store and continue on until the last mosal is finished. Don't get me wrong I love doing all of this work, my mind says "Yes, you can do it", but the body is saying today "You are an idiot, slow down". So for future Christmas's I am listening to my body.
For dinner on Christmas day there were 10 people around the table. Turkey, stuffing, rolls/butter, squash, cauliflower cheese, baby peas, sauerkraut, (Hubby's late wife kept Polish traditions, so his daughter always wants the sauerkraut,), mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and a pickle tray.. Dessert, homemade cherry cheesecake, shortbread cookies, butter tarts and mince tarts. Hubby's DIL brought a trifle and DIL's Mother and brought brought a bottle of white wine. Boxing Day, nine people from my family, (one GD was working), we just had nibblies, polish sausage, cheese, crackers, chips and horseradish dip, sausage rolls, shimp, pickle tray. Sweet tray held, shortbread cookies, tarts mentioned above, chocolates, and leftover cheesecake. I don't buy booze these days, so if anyone wanted a special drink, it was BYOB, and that worked out very well.
We had a green Christmas and Boxing Day with the temps above the zero degree mark, which is just the way I like it. This morning, we have a dusting of snow. In my diary from last year on Boxing Day we had eleven inches of snow on the ground.
The turkey has been striped and the bones are currently waiting in the fridge, eventually to become soup tomorrow, which will be on the menu for a couple of days.
I did not hear from my son or DIL during the weekend, at first I was upset, but now have come to accept the fact that those things are a part of the cycle of life. They live a good two hours or more drive away, they have children and now a granddaughter, so they are busy with them celebrating. But, in my heart feel as if I am forgotten, my argument, a phone call takes such a small amount of time but can mean so much. I am done initiating calls,, not just to family, but also friends that I thought were "friends". Sounding like a miserable b$#ch, but the world we live in at the present time also adds to the feeling of desertion. If I didn't have Hubby I just can't imagine what my life would be if I was living alone.
On a positive note, my youngest GD "C" received fantastic results from the first semester final exams she wrote a couple of weeks ago for a light training. Second youngest GD "K" as I am mentioned previously is working on her Masters in Biology, informed up yesterday, she will be "fast forwarding" her Masters studies in September 2022, to start a five year course of studies to receive a PHD in Biology. She is currently doing research in a lab, which she hopes will eventually result in her creating crops that will be able to grow in the climate changes of the future. Both of them are Asian and have received many unfavourable comments regarding the Covid virus.
Dinner tonight, LEFTOVERS, easy peasy.
Have a great day.
I'm so happy that you had a wonderful Christmas, Pat. Please don't make a judgment about stopping Christmas just yet. You're tired now but that feeling won't always last. I do the big gatherings several times a year, with the cooking & planning & shopping & all the rest. I'm 65yo and have diabetes & horrible arthritis, including excruciating painful knee joints that have needed replacing for many years now. But you know what? If I stop doing everything for my family, I'm afraid I'm going to become a miserable old woman sitting in a rocking chair... unable to move like I want to. Once you stop, Pat, you become unable to do it again in the future. I think the reason my kids want to come around is because of all the effort they see me put into our gatherings, for them, for all these years. The movement is good for you... keeps you active and healthy. Just take some Motrin (sometimes I have to take 800mg before the pain lessens to a dull roar) and make merry for your family. That's what Christmas is all about!! *hugs* ~Andrea xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteI usually have several gatherings throughout the year, however, the past two years, in the area where i live, we have not been able to do that. Sorry you are having so much pain. Being 80 years old, 15 years older than you, those extra years make a difference with energy levels. As I said I like doing it, so next year hopefully, I will spread the festivities further apart, therefore resting in between all the hustle and bustle.
DeleteThat was a heavy load over two days - no wonder you are shattered! Maybe it's time to pass the duties on to other family members. I was saddened and disappointed to hear of the treatment of your two GD's re: COVID. That is really sickening and uncalled for. So sorry they had to experience that.
ReplyDeleteI used to host Christmas Eve, Day and Boxing day. Every year. It became too much (I inherited from my mother and mother in law). Now I would love just one day with my family during the actual Christmas period. Maybe cut back on one next year. Or ask people to bring more.
ReplyDeleteI have seen that discrimination here amongst our Asian community (many of whom have more Australian history than do I but I am white). It is appalling and makes me ashamed.