Christmastime can be a month of contradictions for empty nesters. On the one hand, it is nice to enjoy a relatively quiet month on the calendar, actually have a “decorated” Christmas tree (or none at all) and begin some new traditions for the two of you. On the other hand, it is easy to long for the excitement of the little ones, the busy malls and my favorite, holiday and dance recitals. With that being said, December offered me plenty of opportunities to be happy this year:
- Driving through the old neighborhood where we used to take the kids on Christmas Eve to look at lights and find that, 25 years later, many of the same decorations are still displayed. Love the continuity!
- Following another long-held tradition, now with our granddaughter, and going to see “Traditions of Christmas.”
- Marking lots of items off the wedding to-do list.
- Having dinner in the middle of the week with a group of girlfriends. Always a good idea and one we do not arrange often enough!
- Buying a new bed!!! When we down-sized the house we also down-sized our bed from king to queen. While the size was OK, the mattress was horrible so just 3 years later we decided enough was enough and bought a new mattress and returned to king size. A good night’s sleep certainly makes me happy
- These two goofy faces excited the entire month for Santa to come.
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- 7. Lots of snow in the mountains makes this skier very happy
- 8. Sitting around after Chrismas dinner and playing cards with friends and family. I constantly seek a simpler and calm life and, for me, this just embodies that idea.
- 9. Arriving home safely on New Year’s Eve. Every year I worry about both ourselves and our daughter and future son-in-law getting home after the annual NY Eve party at friends. It just makes me happy when we are all tucked into our beds on this dangerous evening.
- 10. The fact that I am not worrying about the funky numbering this computer is doing to me in this post makes me happy.
What made you happy in December?
