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)