I don’t have a prepared blog this week—but I must, I must, I must…I said a blog post every Monday and that’s part of the deal.
First, and most importantly, everyone is healthy again! See, look, we even pulled off a four-mile hike at over 8,000 feet of elevation.
But maybe, just as important, we got a little Christmas tree this past weekend.
Truth told, I have a history of being really prickly with the holiday. I am not going to get into the back story but there were some really weird ones as a child. I don’t love the forced march of tradition or church-going or seeming judgement by Old Saint Nick.
Last year, I rented a little Airbnb in Sonoma by myself and binge watched Bridgerton and then ordered a gourmet pizza from the best place in Yountville. (I would have ordered take-out from French Laundry but it was closed. Thanks pandemic.)
But on Saturday, John said, “Let’s get a tree!” And so we did. We are departing for Scotland (we hope, PCR test willing) on December 19, so we got just a small tree. I pulled my box of ornaments out of storage, and despite my best Scrooge intentions, I started to feel the Yuletide spirit. We played Christmas music, we strung the lights, and we even fetched Bruno early from doggy day-care so we could be our complete family of three. Then we took ourselves on a date to the best restaurant in Santa Fe (it’s Arroyo Vino) while Bruno got drunk on tree water.
So, the moral of this story: last week I was reeling from our back-to-back illnesses and feeling so alone and sad and this week is the opposite! I feel so happy and loved.
Yes, the roller coast of life is real. My learning curve—as it may be for the rest of my life—is to keep moving forward. And lighten up. And string those lights.
I am taking Christmas back.
So glad you are feeling better! Merry Christmas!