it's been a really nice vacation -- too bad i have to ruin it by going back to work. :P
really, the first few days i did a lot of sleeping and playing ff xii to get the stress out. i ignored the work i had waiting for me to get done for this upcoming week and pretty much just relaxed. didn't even put any pressure on myself to write.
the thanksgiving food showed up early in the afternoon, and that's when i kicked into gear. they gave us a turkey, rolls, a cake for desert, some sort of bread thing that wasn't to our taste (2 of the kiddles liked it though, so they got it), some beans that we'll use for another meal, cranberry sauce, and some creamed corn. we added green beans, potatoes, yams & marshmallows, and a few other little things. between them and us, we had a really nice thanksgiving dinner. when they brought the food, we gave them some of my peanut butter cookies as a thank you.
after dinner, we watched cars with the kids, then put up the tree. we do this every year to show our thankfulness for christ and his sacrifice for us. the tree reflects this as well, with every ornament reflecting either him or someone in the family. for us we have: unicorns for me, wolves for saxy, bears for kitten (who should be taking most of her ornaments with her back to hawaii this year, assuming she comes out for the holidays), carousels and rocking horses for jewel (who will also be taking her ornaments soon), kittens for froggy, and penguins for taz. we also have an assortment of ornaments made by the kids or purchased or made as gifts. saxy's mom made these wonderful icicle bears for saxy and me -- 1 each.
to represent christ, his birth, and his sacrifice we have white lights (non-blinking to represent his holiness and purity), angels, musical instruments (to celebrate!), bells, some fish ("and you shall be fishers of men"), crystal hearts, candy canes (representing the great shepherd and the spices brought by the wise men), some stars of david i made with toothpicks and cross-stitch floss, and everything hung in red and white ribbons (red for his blood, white for his purity and for us being washed clean of all sin by his sacrifice). every ornament we buy or make (quite a few of the ornaments are cross-stitched) bears these things in mind -- the symbols that represent each of us and the symbols used to represent him.
putting up our tree every year also helps us to get focused. it's easier to put aside the irritations, to see what we do have rather than what we're missing. it helps set the tone in the house for the rest of the season.
even if work is irritating me to death. :P
and even if we end up not doing the whole gift thing. which actually rarely happens. even if we can't manage something for the holidays, saxy's parents usually send enough to make sure the kiddos are covered. and, of course, dad makes sure to get them stuff too. saxy and i may end up skipping this year, though. he was out of work and that cuts into my ability to get things covered for my 2 week vacation. buying new toys is not recommended when you're scrambling to pay the utilities. but, rent for december is covered. and we should have most of the rent for january with my check. that much is taken care of.
over the last few days of vacation, i worked on the stuff i needed for this week a little at a time, which was nice. usually i'm frantically trying to pull stuff together. the typing part is going to be a bit of a pain -- it's pointless to set things up on my comp and email it to the school. the word program they use always messes up the stuff i send. so it's early to work tomorrow, and staying late to get the stuff typed up for copies. i also played more ff xii. and i managed some writing! and i even managed to get in touch with another friend who i haven't spoken to for some time. the reconnection was comfortable -- i've missed her a lot. and, best of all, there were no new crises or major fights. it was really nice.
i had 5 days and they really helped. i relaxed a bit, enjoyed myself, destressed. i spent time with the family, we managed to follow through with our traditions (which is always soothing), and even got some me time in there. i feel much less wound up than when the week started. i'm dreading tomorrow, of course, but i'm not nearly as ready to call in sick as i was last week. i think i can make it through the next 3 weeks or so that i have left for this particular position.
5 days seems like a long time when they first start, but, now that they're gone, it didn't seem long at all.
word of the moment: picaresque
belonging to or characteristic of a type of prose fiction that features the adventures of a roguish hero and usually has a simple plot divided into separate episodes; relating to or characteristic of rogues or scoundrels; picaresque fiction - prose fiction featuring the adventures of a roguish hero
