At around this time last year I remember thinking to myself, as I sorted out a bit of Christmas decor for the living room, "I wonder if I'll be here to do this again next Christmas?" At that point, most of my current ailments hadn't surfaced, I felt fairly confident that I
would see another Christmas, barring accidents. Thinking along the same lines in 2019 I'm not quite as confident. I have had 2 more surgeries, several procedures, and some radiation therapy; early breast cancer has spread to bones - femur and hip, since Christmas 2018. I've made it through 2019 though, and once again here comes Christmas, with me still part of it.
Yay!!
I decided I must make an attempt to do some seasonal decor, and made a start this morning. Dang though, I feel knackered! (As we'd say in Yorkshire). I should have asked for assistance from Himself, but I'm an independent cuss. I didn't realise how much walking is entailed, too and fro - garage to utility room to kitchen, to living room. It's part-finished now. I'm having a rest, here at the keyboard.
Our minimalist outdoor seasonal decor will be done tomorrow - with help from Himself. We'll put solar lights on our two young Redbud trees, exchange a Fall wreath with a Christmas one, and stand Santa where he'll catch the breeze and wobble on his springy feet. We don't clamber around putting lights along gutters and window frames as most householders do in these parts. Okies tend to start on Christmas trimming immediately Thanksgiving is over. I like to allow December to find its feet before getting out the red and green stuff, while inadvertently scattering glitter where it ought not to glitz. It's not long since all of last year's wandering sparkly bits eventually disappeared! I bought a robot vacuum cleaner a few months ago and, happily, it seems to have an appetite for sparkles. It has been a big help to me. I can mop and dust, with quad cane at hand, but can't easily push a heavy vacuum cleaner around. I didn't opt for the most expensive robot vac. I chose a mid-priced model called "Roborock" - I can recommend it.
Now...back to the glitter spreading!
I know the biting off more than we can chew business intimately now. I did 3 things today when I know my max is 2 and here I am at the keyboard catching breath so I can put the groceries away. The stuff we never thought of before? Lard thunderin' as they say out in these parts.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you've survived to Xmas again, we never do know if we shall see another spring now do we? Every day takes on a new deeper meaning.
My Tao meditation of today was:
"We must have constant awareness to fit ourselves into the changing constellations of life."
I found it quite powerful and so did others when I shared it on FB.
Many tiny joys to yourself and Himself.
XO
WWW
Dazzling Xmas displays are in my genes and I have all the ingredients, but I'm a lazy sob that dreds taking them down. So I enjoy others' now and I suffer no remorse. I limit my household decorating to one item that I dutifully remove from the closet and plug in, maintaining the one-off switch daily for a couple of weeks. I've not yet developed the seasonal joy of 2019 to retrieve it from it's eleven months of hibernation. If you only think of your mortality every December, you're way behind me. I enjoy weekly reminders of my out-pacing fate. I bought a stick vacuum as an alternative to my does-it-all-but-too-heavy tanker. I'll keep your robo in mind if some thoughtful Santa's helper omits it from my stocking.
ReplyDeleteWisewebwoman ~ Yes, your Tao meditation is definitely something to ponder on and appreciate. I find that life's constellations are appreciated and understood most clearly with hindsight, to discover how good we've been at "fitting ourselves into" those constellations through which we've passed. "Somewhere in our youth or childhood, did we do something good?" - Julie Andrews knew a song about that. :)
ReplyDeleteMany everyday joys to you and yours too, WWW.
Anonymous ~ LOL! Yes, I've known those feelings too. I don't have an actual tree to plug in here though. I often ask myself why I didn't buy one when we first moved in here, or even subsequently. I must have had some anti-Christmas feelings, or perhaps I worried about the use of extra electric - climate change in mind. I've collected bits and pieces over the years in thrift stores and antique stores, none of which are tree-like, but I concoct a tree-like thingie with glittery bitz and pieces.
ReplyDeleteWe, too, like to enjoy the efforts of others in outdoor decor at Christmas time. I soften my attitude re climate change for the 12 days of Christmas now, but still use solar for decor. Sometimes after dark we drive around the area of town where the filthy oil-rich live - amazingly, in a town of this size such an area exists, a spill-over from the days when Halliburton had its main centre here. The lights in some frontage areas there can be unbelievably complex - and beautiful. We suspect they must have been designed and put up by professionals. Lights reaching to the top of very high trees would need specialist equipment - and lots and lots of electric!