Christmas 2017

Christmas Eve has come and gone, today Christmas 2017 cold and blustery with one kid asleep upstairs for the first time since he moved out in January, and one far away in Florida. Christmas came with an opening of gifts (we are calling this Christmas "Practical Christmas" because the nature of the gifts are things we needed - like an EZ-Pass and AAA). After lounging a bit, we were joined by our Shiao relatives for a delicious breakfast, and now, a relaxing day of hanging at home awaits.

Every year I seem to experience a sense of dread as the year flies by and we are once again entering the holiday season. I think it's because I feel like the years are passing so quickly, the kids are getting older, we are losing loved ones to advanced age, and there is a true sense of our own mortality. Oh, how much time we had from an 18-year old's view.

This has been a very disconcerting and unsettling year for me with the political landscape. I always though I was on the "right" side of most argument until this bizarro year. This year I feel like we have all had our health care threatened, we, as women, have lost ground with rampant sexism all around us, a crazy person is threatening other countries, and just generally feeling frustrated and nervous every day because of the narcissistic, arrogant, dangerous lunatic leading our country. [Perhaps I should have saved those sentiments for another, non-Christmas related post...!!]

All this to say, that these feelings have fed into my ability to fully enjoy some things this year. Still, so many blessings! We are gainfully employed, the kids are doing well in their career paths as well as in their relationships, Jasper is still with us, and we are enjoying good health (if I could only lose 10 pounds...). PLUS, I have a week off from work so am looking forward to alternately reading and binge watching series on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

So, best wishes for the merriest of Christmases and a wonderful New Year from the Bakers!