Thank gaaawd Christmas is over. Don’t get me wrong, spending time with family and friends is always welcome! And, every single Christmas, I still wake up early to motivate the entire family downstairs to watch me humiliate myself as rip open gifts with the excitement of a child. But, as an admitted non-Christian, this holiday only frustrates me. It perpetuates all of the consumerism that I spend so long trying to live in complete opposite of. Thank you Mom and Dad for the beautiful gifts that I needed and will use throughout the year. Now it’s time to unpack them, find a spot for everything in my small home, and use all of my repressed anger to knead on some bread. (I was given an amazing baking stone and pizza slider paddle thing so I really need to kick my baking up a notch.)
Oh, have I mentioned that I’m thrilled to be back home? I love this small house, filled with the things that I treasure and use. I love the city that I live in, my garden out back, and my pup-pup. I love the life that I have built for myself, the partner that continues to bolster those values, and the friends that fill the space.
There are a few traditions that I’ll miss till next year: the Christmas balls (pictured below), all the baking and time in the kitchen, time off to be with J. Well, till next year…
The photo above is a Christmas tradition that J and I have. There’s a particular neighborhood in Greensboro that has these brightly colored Christmas balls in their trees. Every year, we drive through. I have to remark at least 3 times about how it looks like a gumdrop forest. I love it.
Slight side note: because I’ve been living the last week in a home with a refrigerator so constantly full that they have ANOTHER full size one out in the garage to catch overflow and constantly home the growing beer collection, I’ve decided to not go grocery shopping today. Yes, I only have some wrinkled vegetables, homemade health syrups, and flour to work with but I think I can make some killer meals out of what I’ve got.
