I used to have a weighted blanket that I used to chill at the end of the day.
Except I wasn’t chilling, I was roasting a lot of nights. At some point, I realized I was experiencing peri-menopause, and it wasn’t the blanket that was causing the night sweats.
I spoke to my endocrinologist about it. He was the doctor I saw the most often, and he ordered unnecessary hormone tests that confirmed that I was not menopausal. Which wasn’t even my question. But, men. Alas, they are helpless in the face of a woman in distress and sometimes they do foolish things the woman must then pay for. In this case, literally $300.
It has been over five months since we gave up Amazon Prime and Netflix.
The rapidly escalating content on Netflix was leaving the adults in our family feeling gross after watching our shows, and we squirmed at the content the kids kept finding.
There were some great shows, but our tweens kept finding stuff that was rated for their age, but was full of bigger kid content that we weren’t ready to expose them to, at least not on the screen. I’d much rather have my kids read about something than watch it and have everything spelled out for them.
Amazon Prime? I was sick of paying to shop at a specific store, especially one that was invading my privacy and was my first choice when I was shopping or just looking for something. With the ease of ordering, sometimes, I clicked purchase before I even realized what had happened.
There are a few traditions we have at Christmastime that everyone in our family really loves. Our family nativity photo shoot was such a hit the first year that we did it twice.
The second year, the kids were less enthusiastic, but willing.
This year, I put it off for weeks.
I was afraid One would refuse. Or something else would go wrong. The idea of gathering and coordinating costumes for everyone is a little intimidating. Getting costumes together and helping each person choose who will depict who is a delicate dance between filling all the spots and making sure everyone is satisfied.
We didn’t decorate our tree, and I wrapped the gifts in pillowcases. After the Christmas baking and traveling were done, there weren’t really any other excuses, but I still put it off.
After we did our Victorian Strolls, I kept working on historical accuracy/appearance. Five looked fabulous in her costume, but it wasn’t super accurate, and I wanted to make a dress that better suited the period. The growth dress was perfect because it would last her a while since it’s designed to grow with her.
The Chaplain and I talk about hibernation frequently at this time of year. We feel sluggish. All we want to do is sit on the sofa and eat carbs. The Chaplain can’t do that, because the Christmas season demands even more work from him than usual between his church responsibilities and work commitments.
I can slow down during the winter season, and I do, because my body won’t let me do anything else. I struggle with it every year. Surrender and Acceptance are all very well and good, except when Christmas is coming and you are the Magic Maker.
