What happened in December? Well, we had Christmas (quite nice) and four birthdays (also nice). One of the birthdays was my 70th. I still can't get used to that number. I in no way feel 70 and think there must be some mistake with the math. It seemed that such a number deserved a little more special observance than I usually have (sometime let me explain to you about between-Christmas-and-New-Year's birthdays). So, I got a very special cake and had them write happy birthday to me on it, invited the family over, and had a little party. It was small, but fun.
The week before Christmas I broke my cell phone and managed to replace that with a remarkably inexpensive option when I had planned to get the most expensive thing out there.
The day after my birthday, I nearly poisoned Frankie. I accidentally left out a box of chocolate-covered cookies on the table when I took the grandkids to spend some of their Christmas money. The box was about half full, and when we returned, it was empty. A fast trip to the vet, and the quick emptying of stomach contents saved our little boy. He was sad for a day and had to take a few meds for a couple of days, but he's back to his old sweet self, and I have learned an important lesson.
The lesson really is something serious I've been thinking about a lot. I am easily distracted and sometimes forget to do something or complete something. The lists I write help, but maybe I've become so dependent on lists, my memory doesn't serve as well. Whatever it is, I am making a big effort to be "in the moment" every moment. Whatever I'm doing, I try to think and remember other things at the same time. It's not truly multi-tasking, but more like interruptions to keep myself alert and not mono-focused. I even talk myself through things, out loud, to avoid mistakes.
This winter, I signed up to have some young guys shovel the snow from my walks and drive. It has worked out quite well. Except that they went out of town for two days at Christmas and it snowed here both days. I shoveled about an inch myself, and on Christmas day, two neighbors with snowblowers cleared about six inches or so for me. The sad thing is that it has been a very dry and warm winter so far. If we don't get more snow, we won't be watering our yards in the summer.
Let's see, before Frankie's chocolate poisoning, I'd had him in to the vet for some stomach issues, and he has been on a restricted ingredient diet ever since. He has not been very happy about it, but I've been able to find some things that he does like and we can soon start adding other foods to see what he tolerates.
December was a good month, but taken in all, 2017 was not a good year. I have allowed myself to get depressed over current events too much. I will be setting some goals for 2018, and among those will be to separate my personal life and feelings from the disaster that is at the top of our government right now.
Tonight I will got to bed early, as I always do. But I will be awakened at midnight by the inevitable fireworks that will go on for at least half an hour. At that time, I'll get up and watch the displays and drink a private toast to a good 2018 for all of us. 2018 is the Year of the Dog, but I have decided to make it the year of me. It's time to take better care of myself physically and emotionally. I have some specific plans in that regard. And I plan to get back to more artistic endeavors as well. Of course, I will still spend a lot of my time helping my kids with many things. But I will try to remember to give myself the time and effort needed for good health and happiness.
So, cheers to 2018, whatever it brings. May we be equal to all the challenges and worthy of all the rewards.
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