The first day of 2026

As I've written many times before, January 1 is often my favorite day of the year.  And this year is no exception!  We've been watching the College Football Playoffs, (after the Buckeyes awful loss, we are now Hoosier fans).  Andrew and I have both been doing a lot of school work today, but we haven't left our home...just the way I like it!  In fact, I informed Andrew this morning that I wouldn't be getting out of my pajamas, although in my defense I actually put on clean pajamas this morning.  I gave myself a new set for Christmas, and they are incredibly comfortable.  I also put on my comfy Christmas socks for the last time this season.  It's been a great day.

NYE was spent at our good friends' house last night, and it was especially fun to share it with other friends and even some of the kids.  There were twelve of us together at Midnight, and we left shortly after.  I told Andrew that I know I'm getting old because although I love our friends and I especially had fun watching the game, I'm to the point that I almost prefer to stay home and just hang out ourselves on NYE.

Our sweet new pup, Jane, has been so much fun today.  After insisting it would NOT happen, she slept in our bed last night.  Beagles are just absolutely the best!  She and the cats are coming to an understanding.  There are so many little traits that remind us of our dear Abby but she looks different than Abby and I'm glad about that.  I'm so, so glad that she has come into our lives.

This break had a lot of crazy, but I'm so grateful for the last few days.  It's very nice to end the old year and start the new one with a sense of peace!

The last day of 2025

Here we are, at the last day of the year again.  I'm no longer surprised by the rapid passing of time.  I'll blink, and it will be summer, than I'll blink again and wonder where the summer went as the students return, and then I'll blink and we'll be celebrating Christmas again.  Even though the year will fly by, I wouldn't mind if the next five days (I'm still off Monday) pass by at a snail's pace.

There were a lot of wonderful family memories made this year between Thomas's wedding and our big family vacation.  Catherine is also in a lovely relationship, and she is making better choices in life.  I'm thankful for the way things are going with my children every single day, and I don't take their successes for granted.

The hardest part of this year was the world around us.   The hardships faced by so many this fall has been especially emotionally challenging, and Andrew and I have both joined groups and committees to address these issues.  We've also both been incredibly busy with our church and the new pastor search, and of course my job has been a source of exorbitant stress.  I still love my job, but parents are crazy.

Today, we also created a new beginning.  I'm so thrilled to announce that a new sweet pup has joined our family.  A neighbor who volunteers at a local shelter tipped us off to a young female beagle that had just arrived, and Andrew put in an application the same day.  We had a meet & greet today, and we could not be more thrilled.  We've named her Jane Harriet (Goodall and Tubman), and Janie is a delightful addition to our home.  Right now she is curled up in Andrew's arm and they are both napping.  There are so many things that remind of us our sweet Abby because of her personality, but she is absolutely her own dog and is an absolute lover.  We are thrilled she is here.

I'm excited about the beginning of another year, and I'm grateful we are here to see it!  Our dear neighbor (and mother of co-worker) passed away Monday morning, and that combined with the death of Tatiana Schlossberg is a poignant reminder that nothing guaranteed.  I'm grateful to be able to see 2026 arrive.

All is calm

For just about the first time of this break, things feel calm.  Andrew just left to take him mom home.  Leading up to Christmas, I had things to get ready, including three trips related to getting my mom's house ready.  The day after Christmas, we were back up in that area to visit family in honor of my cousin Natalie's wedding, and Saturday we were gone all day for another wedding.  That will be another post, but suffice it to say, it's been tiring.  Yesterday, Andrew didn't feel well so we didn't go to church, which delightfully meant we had no where to go all day.  A frozen lasagna fed us dinner, and that was that.

My MIL told me that she really enjoyed being here, but I'm not certain how that could be the case.  Other than seeing some lights Tuesday (that were absolutely lovely), it feels like all we did was run here or there, and when it was finally time to be home, I needed to get school and church things completed.  But, I'm grateful that we did have the time we had.  We watched some TV shows, we visited the lights, we had an incredibly lovely Christmas Eve with the kids here and playing games, and an equally lovely Christmas morning.  We had a fairly nice afternoon at my mom's house, and there really were so many lovely things about this past week.  At the same time, I'm not sad that the house is quiet, and I'm not sad that I still have a week until I go back to work!! 

Christmas 2025

This has been a mostly wonderful Christmas.  If the truth be told though, I'm physically exhausted and emotionally drained.  It all just feels like a lot.

Our Christmas Eve plans were scrapped as our friends' kids started getting sick.  We were disappointed as we love our time with them, and we love to see their kids from out of town.  And we also had literally nothing in the house that would feed seven people for dinner!  Domino's Pizza solved that problem though, and the kids all gathered here by 6:00.

Catherine had come with us to church, and it's always a challenge for me.  We go to a Catholic church because it is what needs to happen with my MIL, but I regret not being able to fully participated in the church, especially on Christmas.  It causes a pang.  I also saw a family I've known for a long-time, and I adore this large family, but I also know there is heartache there.  It left me feeling emotional.  I was so glad Catherine came with us though.

After the kids all arrived here after church, I gave our Christmas Eve gifts of pajama bottoms.  We played an incredibly fun trivia game, and then we watched the Polar Express.  I don't love that move, but I do love when my kiddos (and wife and boyfriend) are all safely asleep in my home.  Our morning was also incredibly lovely, and I'm so grateful for the photos we took of our family.  We all loved the gifts from each other.  We were on the road before Noon for lunch at my Mom's house.  My sister went to visit my grandmother, and we sat down to eat as she returned.  Unfortunately, she was overcome with emotion and ran out of the house.  I get it, she is exhausted.  She worked tirelessly to get my Mom's house ready, it's an incredibly busy season at her job, and she is almost solely responsible for things that happen with my grandmother.  And today, Grandma was incredibly confused when my sister was there.  As my sister was dealing with her emotions, my mom and my MIL began to tell stories about the passing of other relatives, and suddenly there were a lot of tears.  I attempted to change the subject, but there was a damper on the afternoon.  Fortunately, my sister regrouped and we were able to finish with a lovely afternoon.  There were more gift exchanges, and it was all so very nice to be together.

We had all driven separately as the kids had other places to be, and I wanted to visit my grandmother.  She has chosen to stop wearing pants (ugh) so I am not in a rush to take others with me to visit her.  I took her some chocolate and we had a short visit.  It was a bit heartbreaking as I know with certainty this is going to be the last Christmas with my grandmother, and even though this isn't the woman I've known, and I know this isn't the woman she would want to be, it's going to be so awful when she's gone.  It was hard leaving her today, but it's also really hard being with her.  As I drove home, I thought of so many wonderful Christmas memories shared with her.

I am grateful for so, so much.  I am incredibly grateful that my kids woke up here today and I don't take it for granted at all.  I know this next year is going to bring some changes, and I'm working really, really hard to embrace them.  Truly, it's been a lovely Christmas, and even the emotions are because of how amazing my life really is.

Songs take me back

I am definitely a person who "feels" songs. I can hear a song and it can take me right back to what feels like a different lifetime.  Christmas is definitely a season where it happens often.  We've been listening to a lot of my grandparents' records on their old Admiral console stereo that we've had for 4-1/2 years.  They are traditional songs sung by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Irving Berlin, etc.  My heart has felt so full listening to these songs.

As I was driving home from my mom's house this evening, another song came on.  To back track a bit, I need to explain that my paternal grandmother's family gathered every year on the Sunday before Christmas.  I was the oldest great-grandchild.  I loved those gatherings.  They lasted through 1995, and I have absolutely wonderful memories from them.  Anyway, in 1992, we all traveled about an hour away as my great-aunt & great-uncle had moved to a lake house.  As we were driving home that day, the song "Daddy's Hands" by Holly Williams came on the radio.  I didn't love my first semester of college which had just finished, and I was so grateful to be home for break.  I was especially grateful to be home with my Dad with whom I was so very close.  I remember that song coming on, and I remember my eyes filling with tears in the car.  I was so very lucky to be my father's daughter.  As I was driving today, I realized the date, and realized it was exactly thirty-three years ago today...Dec. 20, 1992, that we had that Christmas celebration.  That's pretty ironic I would hear that song again this evening.

Andrew is off getting his mom tonight and they'll be back tomorrow.  I'm enjoying the quiet tonight.

So happy to get to school break, I thought I might cry

I had been counting down the days, then the hours, then even the minutes until school was going to be finished yesterday for break.  I don't think we had ever earned a break like we had this one.  Work has turned into a daily "what now?" situation.  We had one pop up at the end of the day Wednesday that required I put in an extra hour, we had ANOTHER one pop up in the morning before school even began, and then we had one that was a bit less of a surprise closer to the end of the day.  I felt weary to my core.  The hard part is that none of them can really be resolved right now.  Ugh.

We had a staff gathering at the end of the day, and I was happy to be there but was the first to leave.  It was a really wet and windy day, and although I was supposed to attend a meeting last night, I decided I was coming home and officially beginning my break.

I spent my day just kind of doing my own thing.  I wrapped a few presents, I cleaned a bit, I took a nap, I just kind of hung out and did my thing.  Maudie, the cat we inherited from my grandmother has been very clingy and wanted to curl up with me throughout the day.  Catherine had her last day at school and then left town for the weekend.  I've appreciated the relatively quiet day.

We got a bit of hard news today.  My sister informed us that this seven-day course of antibiotics will be the final antibiotic for my grandmother.  My grandmother has faded tremendously in the last couple of months.  Even if this round of antibiotics takes care of the current infection, it is recurrent and this life is not what my grandmother ever wanted.  She is 94 years-old, and I know that she will be ready whenever the time comes, as it's been apparent she's been ready for quite some time.  I'll be sad when she's gone, but honestly, she hasn't been the same woman for years.

Tomorrow, Andrew is going to get his mom, and I'm going up to my mom's.  Quite a bit to do over the next several days, but I'm so grateful to be on break!

It's been a lovely "snow" day

We were all home again today.  I think my boss had decided last night that she was going to close this morning, but she hated to make it official the night before.  The text came at 5:30 this morning that I'd be joining Andrew and Catherine here at home.

Of course, it didn't actually snow at all!  This is all still from Saturday's storm.  The issue is the temps have been so frigid that they can't get the roads clear.  There are even already some schools delaying for tomorrow, and it is very possible our public schools will be among them.  I'm certain my school will be in and on time, and since it will only be a three day week at this point, I don't mind at all.

I was able to get a couple of loads of laundry done, clean out a few things, and begin to wrap gifts.  Andrew has to work at the basketball game tonight, so it's a great time to get his gifts wrapped.  I've enjoyed my foresty candle, my lights, and the coziness of my warm home (for which I'm so grateful) as I've enjoyed the gorgeous views outside my windows.  This has really been a delightful and productive day!