Happy New Year

(Started at 11:30 New Year’s Eve)

The midnight hour is approaching, and a new year is about to begin. The end of 2013 has been a difficult time for people in this area of the province. The ice storm last weekend did a lot of damage, left many without power, without heat, for days on end.

Kudos to the emergency crews that worked tirelessly to restore power, so everyone could have their Christmas celebration.

The holidays have turned away from the old values and meanings, even though people seem to still think of it as family time, a time of celebrating with those we love. All that kindness and good cheer stuff.

I think the holiday is too commercial, I mean the stores barely got Hallowe’en stuff off the shelves when they were filling the space with Christmas. And what was with all those ads on television, not to mention the Christmas movies, all before American Thanksgiving.

December 1^st was always my start date, and I would gradually decorate the house. The kids and I would have a little party, which meant fancy drinks and snacks, to decorate the tree. We did the same when we sat to wrap presents. We went to the Santa Claus parade, the Santa party at the library, and saw the trees lit up in the park.

It was a month of kid’s activities, and gatherings with friends. There never seemed to be enough time for everything. Maybe it’s a children’s holiday, and it just doesn’t have the same feeling without kids in the house with their innocent enthusiasm.

It’s different now, I have no desire to have a tree and have no Christmas decorations on display other than the odd Christmas card or a Christmas angel in my angel collection. I’ve lost interest, though I miss sitting by the glow of a Christmas tree, my gifts for the kids hidden beneath.

It must be doing things alone. I need to make a party of it. Maybe, next year, I’ll plan a round-robin of tree decorating with all my friends who live alone, to get ourselves in the Christmas spirit and decorate our trees and our homes.

Without the social whirl, the week between Christmas and New Years is a drag. Nothing will return to normal until after January 1^st, so let’s get it over and done with.

 

I know, it’s a bit of the old Bah Humbug, so call me Scrooge.

I think my mood is greatly affected by my decreasing mobility and tolerance for activity. I find it much easier to be home, alone for the most part. But then I crave the human contact and need to see my friends and family; need to have a face to face conversation, one that I don’t have to type.

That’s a bit of a slam against the social media, which I love and would be lost without, but it doesn’t replace a true interaction where you can see facial expressions, listen to the tone of voice and hear someone’s laughter.

This was not where I intended to go with this posting, but that’s what happens when I leave it to the last minute. I’ll blame the sour mood on my cold; the constant sniffling and bleary eyes are getting me down.

2013 was a year of change for me. I had the move in June and my life has been very difficult since that time. As much as I love my new place, it’s not without its drawbacks. I knew the effort of moving was most likely to put me in a bit of an MS relapse, and was prepared for that. I was not prepared to screw up my back, (pinched nerve), and have my walking ability jeopardized, hence the walker.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to learn to say no, to myself. It’s like that old saying about your eyes being bigger than your stomach, when people pile their plates full with more food than they can eat.

I did kind of the same thing, buying supplies for gifts I wanted to make and then was unable to complete. But, hey, I have a head start on next year, right?

I’m learning to accept help, have even asked for it. But it’s a hard thing to do when you’ve been independent and self reliant. That’s one of my big resolutions for the year, along with the usual health oriented ones, like losing weight, drinking more water and less diet pop, eating healthy etcetera etcetera.

Maybe, this will be the year I actually keep a resolution.

At any rate, I wish everyone a Happy New Year, and all the best to you and yours for the coming year. Let’s make it a good one.