Isn't that an interesting picture? I can't stop looking at it.Anyways: Not a big fan of the holiday season over here. I think it has something to do with...well, just the math -- I mean, 48 Thanksgivings? Forty-eight?
And every year I tell myself I'm going to be nice about Christmas, or at least sane, but it's hard when WalMart starts putting out the sweetened condensed milk and tinsel before Halloween. I'm not kidding. Pre-Halloween this year.
So every year I tell myself I'm not going to get mean about this, and every year I end up frustrated and disbelieving of all my friends who stay happy, bake and distribute homemade cookies, put up decorations outside their homes, AND don't seem to gain any weight over the holidays.
And I hate everything and get fatter every year. So that's fair.
48.
Robert and Maddie love, and I mean LOVE it. They even hammered nails into our livingroom wall one year so they could put up a star of lights. And another year they went out and bought a giant red velvet bow to put on the front door. I think I might have misplaced that thing last summer when I was cleaning out our storeroom. Whoops!
Anyway, anyway, anyway. What I came here to say was that I really had a nice time yesterday. We went to our Alano Club (building where local 12-step meetings are held) and got together with a mess of people I knew and some I'd never met before. There was tons of food and not much room, and I crammed myself into a seat between an old guy who looked pretty alone, and a couple I haven't spoken with in years. It was absolutely great.
Before Robert and I went to sleep last night we talked about all the people we know who we can't even figure out how they're buying gasoline, much less health insurance (we don't have any either) or making their house payments. A lot of them are single and well over 50, too. With no kids.
We go to sleep every night in a sinfully comfortable bed with a complete set of clean sheets on it, and have way more food around than we can possibly eat. We're healthy and also take for granted the fact that we have heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. Plus we all like eachother just a heck of a lot around here. And then there's Agatha. Greatest dog ever.
And I feel sorry for myself sometimes because of what, again?
Oh yeah: because I hate vacuming and some days I have to empty the dishwasher twice. Or I have to drive into town more than twice and I'm tired! And I can really get going on this stuff sometimes. You should hear all the weeping and wailing that goes on in my head.
Or not.
There's a little snow on the ground this morning, and Maddie had a friend sleep over last night. She just asked for some breakfast: sausage with french toast. Guess what? We have all the stuff! Lucky us.
After breakfast, I think maybe a little snowball action.
13 comments:
One of the many things I learned about me is I can be my worst critic. There are times I want to shout to my brain SHUT UP and do but it doesnt listen. So I try to get out of self and remember how grateful I am to have the life I have today.
Now the weight stuff is just not fair. Here I go and finally quit smoking almost 6 months ago and whats my reward, 20 pds and thanking whom ever came up with stretch jeans, lol. And here comes my brain again hoping I dont run into someone I know will think boy did she gain some weight. When in reality I'm not the most important thing people think about.
So when my head hits the pillow tonight it will all be better because I will be grateful for my life today and that I'm alive to live it and share it with others who actually care about and love me. And I get to love them back!!! And I get to take the grandkids to see Happy Feet this wk-end, how wonderfully fantastic is that :) Thanks for sharing Claudia!!!
Martine that is SO great about quitting smoking! Congratualtions, it was a very, very difficult thing for me to do, and I haven't even calculated the weight gain (17.3 pounds)since I quit. It's nice to be free. I still love the smell of them when other people light up on the street, but I'm not tempted at all...it was such slavery for me - got no desire to go back!
Hey, are you watching ELF on t.v. this week? Oh my God, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that movie!
lc
Ok looks like I will be adding ELF to my Xmas list!!! I've had to let their Mom take them to some Movies, lol. I'll look for it on TV too, thanks Claudia :)
Testing 123
I love Elf. It's right up there with aA Christmas Story.
Yes, and I'm actally AFRAID now that they're not coming back! Come back mystery poster! Come back!
lololol you guys are tooooo funny!!!
Just what I needed after a long day :)
Yes Joan, I'm going to buy the Movie.
Hi there Peggy :)
Claudia, I still think about smoking everyday but dont, arrrggghhhh!!!
Laurel, where are youuuu???
Are you still by the Ocean, sheesh!
Martine when I was quit for 9 months I decided I couldn't take it any more and I bundled Maddie up in her car seat (she was 9 months old) and drove over to where we used to have a little cigarette store in Polson. I went in and bought a pack of Salem, telling myself that I couldn't do this for other people any more, that I had to have control over my own life and my own decisions. I threw the pack on the passenger seat, then went around and sat down in the driver's seat. When I picked up the pack to open it, I suddenly asked myself (seemingly out of the blue) if I smoked a cigarette, who was going to be in control once I lit up. Because one of the things I'd been telling myself when the cigarettes were still calling to me was that I was doing it for other people (M and R, mostly) and that it wasn't fair to me not to be able to make decisions for myself.(that was a lie, of course, I did it for love, which is very different) And when I picked up that pack, I suddenly wondered who WOULD be in control and making decisions for me if I did smoke. I was truly so baffled by the question that I decided to put the cigarettes down until I knew the answer. I carried that pack around for about a year, I think, and couldn't answer the question in any way that spelled freedom to me, so one day I finally threw them out. By then the cravings were gone.
Keep up the good (hard) work! I'm holding a good thought for you!
Wish you all luck on quittin' the cinammon sticks dipped in nicotine........It's admirable to quit and best wishes....Congratulations on the gift to yourself and your loved ones......think my last one was in 7th grade on a dare from someone at the Pig N' Whistle or at Big Boy. Coughed myself home in a storm........
Hi, hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I'm so proud of all you people who have such discipline to quit smoking, unlike myself! I'm on and off,though I never smoked when trying to get pregnant, being pregnant and nursing. I would quit for 2 years at a time and then start again.I know I have to stop,but it's so hard!
Thanks for your latest article/quip, Claudia.
Always enjoy them and, yes, we have SO much to be thankful for.......I will add to your list as thankful elements that all of us sometimes seem to forget:
- flowers in bloom in winter (inside or outside)
- cell phones (especially when you're running late and need to call someone)
- the Sunday newspaper
- George Stephanopolous on ABC
- Will Shortz, the Puzzlemaster
- Bill Maher
- Birds at the feeder in winter; glorious creations!
Claudia, thanks for the encouragement. What is strange is this past month has been the worst for cravings. While it still has somewhat of a hold on me (today was even worse) I appreciate the Freedom I have back.
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