Christmas is upon us; the year is nearly over. I feel good in that I already got cards out to my mom and sister rather than the usual procrastination. I also bought me a “present” of shoes and socks (mainly because it was raining and I discovered I had conveniently worked holes in the soles during my many exercise walks). Isn’t it amazing what rain will reveal: a hole in the roof, a leak in the basement… holes in your shoes?
I got to see my ex yesterday, but the visit was more stressful than usual. It is hard seeing her all hooked up to life-supporting devices like that. She is alert, and she can talk when her speaking valve is inserted. But she struggles with anxiety. And when she slips into one of her anxious periods, it puts even more stress upon me if I happen to be there. But these are the things I must deal with as best I can when I go to visit her while guarding my own stress levels and blood pressure. After all, don’t we all have challenging issues in our lives we have to deal with?
I did have a rather enjoyable Thanksgiving. During the holiday season I always make tentative plans to go away to a motel for a day or two for the purposes of de-stressing. But I always talk myself out of it at the last minute due to finances or inclement weather. This year I made the deliberate decision to go, and I drove four hours away to a city I like and a motel I enjoy with 24 hour pool and Jacuzzi available. I used the pool and hot tub, treated myself to a couple of nice meals, and walked along the river taking pictures to send to mom as I am her “eyes” when I have my camera handy. So it turned out to be a very nice Thanksgiving.
One of the ladies I walk with at the mall reminded me of the Christmas lights in downtown Caldwell. So I made sure the batteries were charged in my camera before heading down to take a look. The decorations were overwhelming to say the least. A lot of families were there walking around enjoying the lights. I took as many pictures as possible to send to mom, some of which turned out halfway decent. Below is just a taste of the many colors I saw that night.
I am still in the process of deciding which stories to repost and which ones to sell. I must be mindful of the limitations set upon me and the other Producers, limitations put in place by the company processing the transactions. So there will be some stories that cannot be posted there. Perhaps there could be a way for me to thank those who donate by sending them one of my previously posted stories or something recently written. As you can see I am still grappling with this issue, and I ask for your patience. In the meantime I am still writing as I do enjoy it.
I tend not to travel to see family over the holidays because of bad weather over the mountain passes. Mom would worry if she knew I was driving over snow and ice. But I hope that is not the case with you. I hope you are able to share the holidays with friends and family, and that this time of year is very special to you.
God’s blessings upon you all! I wish you a very merry Christmas and a great New Year! Thanks for stopping by…