Observations and Musings

I SO don't have time to be doing this, but hey. Christmas break starts tomorrow at noon, and I haven’t had a Christmas break since 1996, and I can cram a lot into those few days before Christmas. So what that I haven’t wrapped a single gift or made the dinner menu or attempted to clean my house? Fa la la.

Some things have come up in the past few days:

• It occurs to me that I can gauge the general health and well-being of my family by the magazine rack at the store. Whenever I run to the pharmacy to pick up that prescription or those over-the-counter medicines or to sign my life away for a bottle of Sudafed, I always look to see if there’s a new quilting magazine to pick up. I realize on some level it’s pretty lame that I get excited over quilting magazines...and yes, that’s kind of sad. Sadder still that there haven’t been any new ones on the shelf for the last several weeks. No, no, it’s not the store’s fault. It’s just that I’ve had to go to the pharmacy way too many times in the past month and I’ve cleaned ’em out.
• One of D’s patients told him today that he thinks I’m a good judge of character. Hm.
• So A’s reading. It’s pretty amazing most of the time. Funny other times. Like when he told me he colored a whole picture at school and when I asked him what color it was he replied, “non-toxic.”
• I wonder if there’s a way to figure out just how much space one needs in a house. Or one family needs in a house. Like, how much is too much? Is there such a thing? We’re entering what could become a heated debate around la maison de la voiture. Not that I want a billion square feet that I have to clean, but how great would it be to actually have a playroom to put toys where I wouldn’t have to step over them or on them or clean them up to run the vacuum because someone’s dropping by with Christmas gifts? You know. That sort of thing.
• I spent way too many hours making our Christmas cards. They were cute, if I do say so myself, but now that they’re done and sent, I’m wondering if they were really worth the trouble. I don’t know. Anyone who is reading this that gets one in the mail, let me know what you think. If it makes people say, “Wow. They took the time to make their cards this year. They must really think we’re special,” then OK. I’ll start working on next year’s cards in February.
• I just found out tonight that I’m going to be a great aunt. This will be our third grand-niece/nephew. I just think that’s weird, that I’m 31 and have been a great aunt for 7 years. Weird, but completely cool. Even though I’m so done having kids, and even though pregnancy has become something of a fearful event rather than a joyous one for me, I’m way excited for my niece and her husband. And I’ve already started thinking about the awesome baby shower I could throw in the house we’ve been eyeing (see above).

With that, it’s beyond time for bed. The kiddies are nestled, as they say, and from the snoring sounds creeping upstairs from the living room, I would say the mister is too. I’m going to enjoy some quiet moments while the electric blanket heats the bed I will crawl into very soon.