And now it’s almost Christmas. Time has been flying these past few weeks. I’m sorry for not reacting to your comments, or commenting on your blogs. I do read (and appreciate!) your comments here and I occasionally visit your blogs, but I have a hard time with sitting down, taking time and find the mental space to really engage. I will pick things up when we’re back home again.
I used to get my expectations up really high for the holidays. You know, plan all the family events, cook all kinds of dishes I never made before (such a silly thing to do!) and hope for blissfull days without any mishaps. Yeah right. That never happened. Over the years I learned to enjoy the process, but also to toss the lists when things weren’t working out. Just being with family is good enough, even when we’re all just human and not perfect Hallmark movie characters.
Last year, we had the worst Christmas ever. In 2021 we had to cancel our trip to the Netherlands because of Omicron. Back then we didn’t know it was a mild form of the virus. We just saw the number of infections rising and rising and made the decision to stay home. I was determined to have a good time though and planned a whole lot of Christmas fun. And then T.’s kidneystones decided Christmas Eve was the perfect night to start acting up, so you can imagine there wasn’t much Christmas cheer those two days.
This year, I went in without any expectations (well, I tried really hard) and things still went off in a way that was very hard for me to deal with. But I think I’m done struggling with all the feelings I have about that, right in time to enjoy the holiday.
Wishing you all the very best of days. Don’t forget to toss the lists when things get too stressful, have a bit of fun and if things don’t work out, remember that it’s just a date. Family bonding, good meals, peaceful moments and all that good stuff can happen any time of the year.
Merry Christmas!
(I’ll be back next Wednesday – December 26th is Second Christmas day in The Netherlands, so I’m going to linger a little bit longer with Christmas movies and family visits)
NOT A STATION 
Aww, are those pics where you are now in the Netherlands? I love it. Minimal can go a long way. I’m slowly learning what you’re saying about ditch the lists and ideals. This year I’m just not feeling ‘it’ for Christmas and things keep changing in these final days before. Other years I would have been freaked out, but this year I seem to be taking it more in stride. We had a winter storm blow through last night, double digit subzero temperatures, and that’s put a big kink in shopping plans. We might end up having frozen pizza from a gas station for our Christmas dinner. LOL And in the grand scheme of things, I guess that’s quite alright.
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Yes., this is our cabin. We got a box of Christmas decoration with the cabin when we bought it and I just put out what I liked. I guess I’ve been minimal for a long time, because it doesn’t feel minmal to me 😉
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Merry Christmas! I love your thoughts here. Thank you for sharing! Stay cozy!
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Tossing the list is a great idea! I hope your Christmas is everything you want it to be x
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We were able to head south on Friday for a family celebration, but a possible Bomb Cyclone was making things tense. we did get on the road and it was not too bad, just very gusty winds that felt like we would blow off the road a time or two. Thankfully we got to enjoy our family time even if tensions were high from Thursday night until party time on Friday. Hubster’s work was also making things tense. Power companies and freezing weather do not mix. I do hope you were able to relax and go with whatever came to be. Merry Christmas!
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Merry Christmas!! I hope you have a wonderful season 🙂
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Thank you! I hope you had a good time too!
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