Now Christmas is over

"Now Christmas is over" is an oft-repeated Swarey family lament, which I believe was first said by Grandma Elsie. After weeks of anticipation, precious time with family goes by too fast. On the other hand, going back to routine can be satisfying, and after days of delicious meals and treats, food begins to lose appeal. Vacation or holiday time always gives me new resolve to be more disciplined and structured when I go back to ordinary days. I determine to schedule my time, take daily walks, menu plan, go to bed on time and wake up early enough to not be rushed and late for work, drink more water, eat less, and on and on! I'm not sure why I continue thinking that way when past experience has shown it's a lot harder to put into action.

It appears I'll be on an extended break from work due to Cliff testing positive for covid. I've been quarantined from work for a week, and won't be starting my new job today as planned. A new start date is still to be determined, but likely will be another 2 weeks. There's plenty I can keep busy with, if only I have the discipline to do it! It's much more tempting to stay up late reading or doing a puzzle, which leaves me tired the next day and uninspired to tackle the list of projects I want to accomplish. It's rather embarrassing to admit how weak and self-indulgent I am when I watch my peers who are raising families and have no time for such trivialities. It was not my intention to write about my lack of self-control and unstructured life, though. 

Several years ago I laid aside my years-long tradition of sending out Christmas cards and letters. I feel this blog is my way of keeping in touch, but after receiving several nice Christmas letters, I began to feel a little guilty for not writing one too. I usually procrastinate when it comes to writing letters because I don't enjoy it, but somehow blogging is different. I know that doesn't really make sense, and I can't explain it either. 

I know I blogged a lot about my job and the pandemic this year. I also wrote about the few trips we took, so what else did our year consist of? We became a household of three when Sharla (Cliff's youngest sibling) moved here this summer. Cliff enjoys his retail job at Bowers Sales and Rentals and has a few side hobbies - flying his drone, tinkering on the boat, and taking it out any chance he gets. We did a few home improvement projects, mainly fixing up the basement bedroom and bathroom before Sharla moved in. 

What were the highlights of 2020? Overall, we'll be glad to see the year end, but there were good times too. The first thing that comes to my mind is the weekend in August when we took our bikes to Poughkeepsie, New York, and rode along a lovely trail, including a bridge over the Hudson River. Another enjoyable weekend was spent in Connecticut with cousins Waylon and Lisa, who are house parents in the unit there. We managed to set foot in several states over two days, including the amazingly beautiful Rhode Island coast. 

In some ways, this year flew by like a flash, but when I think of the coronavirus crisis, it seems longer than a year. I clearly remember writing down some goals and dreams for 2020 at the beginning of the year. It seemed so promising... a new decade, a new start. It turned out to be unlike any year, sometimes bleak, but still good. And like this quote says, the real things haven't changed.