Glad That's Over

My holidays were nice and easy and chill, and I am still glad that they're over.

I'm scheduled to work at the hospital on New Year's Day (hello holiday pay!), so even though I never really celebrate New Year's Eve, I am definitely not staying up until midnight this year.

So the holidays of 2019 have ended for me.



What did I learn this year?

• that I will keep doing what I want and need each year in terms of traveling/not traveling and making plans/not making plans for the holidays
  
  
• that holiday parties can be fun in small doses
  
  This year I went to my first holiday party in probably a decade. I used to have an annual party with my friends from college. We did it for about eight years in a row, but those days are long gone. Great memories though! Anyway, a co-worker invited me to her house for a women's ornament exchange holiday party. Even as extroverted as I seem to be in real life, going to this party ended up feeling way out of my comfort zone. But I'm so glad I went. And I'm so glad I didn't go to anything like that in previous years. I quickly remembered why I don't go to a lot of "girls nights" or "women's events" because it becomes pretty clear pretty soon that I am one of the few (only?) women there that doesn't have kids. Whether toddlers or adults, people's children just naturally come up in conversation. Constantly. But that obvious reality aside, the party was great. Everyone was friendly, the food was good, and the games were fun. (Yes! There were games! And I played. And had fun. Wonders never cease.) I'm thankful my co-worker friend invited me, not even knowing the introverted weirdo I had been for the past ten years. (I call myself "weirdo" lovingly. This is a Public Service Announcement to advise you to watch how you talk to yourself. Don't put yourself down; this world is already harsh enough.)
  
  
• that I need to take charge of cooking what I want to eat
  
  Between finishing up my first year of being back in the public school classroom after a decade and also starting my new career at the hospital on the weekends, I was up for whatever anyone else wanted to host/make happen for me for the holidays... As long as I wasn't driving far or getting on an airplane, I was along for the ride. So the holidays were nice and easy and all. I like who I spent them with. But... The food wasn't that great. And, I miss having leftovers!! Next year I'm going to make the big meal, enough to make sure I have leftovers. Maybe family or friends will come over or maybe it will just be my boyfriend and me, but, dang it, I will make sure we have leftovers. The food is my favorite part of the holidays and this year was disappointing to say the least. Lesson learned! I'm cooking next year.
  
  
• that maybe the holidays aren't easy for a lot of people
  
  Maybe it's the nature of what I read online (blogs, articles, etc.), but I felt like there was a lot more "self-care" type chatter this holiday season. I do read infertility blogs and stuff on mental health and articles about teaching and caring for patients, so there's a definite caregiving slant to those topics. But I also feel like the world is speeding up digitally but humans can only go so fast and process so much... So maybe everyone is operating on sensory overload and feeling a little depleted? 

Anyway, they're over! Whether they were "good" or "bad," the holidays this year are done.

In preparation for January, I started a new quilt. This one is very colorful. I've decided to do at least 4 "get 'em done" quilts, one for each season. This way I'll just charge through the process (piecing the quilt top, quilting, sewing the binding) without letting myself get picky about all of the mistakes. If I stopped and corrected everything, I'd never finish a quilt! I'm learning so they're full of mistakes haha. 

Anyway, I've done a summer quilt and a fall quilt. Next up is my winter quilt. Winter can be cold and dark so I thought it would be a good idea to work on something that makes me feel cheerful. And, whoa, is this a colorful quilt or what. I also bought myself a really nice, used sewing machine. Since I'm apparently really into my new hobby. And that's what I'm doing in my downtime.

So that's what is going on with me. 

The holidays are done. They were fine, but I'm glad they're over.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

😎