Busy-ness

It just never stops. I thought retirement would be a time of R&R. Not so. Oh, yes, I have the benefit of not having to get up at 5:30 a.m. So why am I up at 5:30 a.m. so many mornings? Habit? I don't know, but I do know that after a few days of the early rise, I spend a long time in bed sleeping. Like yesterday.

Alan and I had several errands to run -- see? no rest there. And one of them was having the car serviced. Most times this takes about 1/2 hour. Well, yesterday it took a bit longer, and no matter how hard I tried, I keep falling asleep in the "wait" room. Good thing Alan and I were the only ones there. Snoring is embarrassing, unless it's in front of only your spouse.

When we left the auto servicing center, it was a short 4-mile drive home. I made Alan talk to me about anything and everything to keep me awake. When I got home I went to bed, intending to get up around 5:30 p.m. to make sure Alan had some dinner before the community Board meeting. He, bless his heart, didn't even wake me to tell me he was leaving for the meeting. I woke up around 7:30 pm, but only for a little bit. He got home around 7:45 and I gave him his supper (another sandwich, so glad he likes sandwiches), and then I went back to bed. I turned the light off at 9:30 -- only because I kept falling asleep while trying to read. I supposed all that sleep yesterday and overnight is why I'm up, once again, at 5:30 a.m.

Back to busy-ness. What is it that makes me so busy? I really don't know. I don't consider that I do so much, but I'm always busy, and I think -- "ah, tomorrow, there's nothing going on" and bam! there it is, some little tweak in the "nothing going on" schedule and I'm busy again.

I did get some Christmas shopping done with my PA on Monday -- got a new pre-lit tree for the front bedroom to put in the window. So, I'll have two larger trees this year and four small ones. I arranged Christmas balls in a tall vase with lights for the landing of the steps. All I have to do now is plug it in. I only hope the lights still work. I seem to have a problem with Christmas lights. They work one day, and the next, they are no longer functioning, and no matter how many fuses I replace, the lights still don't work. And yes, I have lights that stay on even if one or more is burnt out.

Oh, dear, lights are out, run to dollar store to pick up some more lights -- you see? Busyness.

'Tis the season for busyness, though, and I love it. Really I do. I love the lights, the getting the house decorated, the food, the smell of fresh baked goods, the breakfast with my girls, the get together with the whole family during Christmas week. All those enjoyments take preparation -- busy-ness.

My once very cleaned up office (that lasted about a week) is now Christmas central, so I have a bunch of bags on the floor all with either a Christmas present or more in it, or some sort of decoration. I allow myself two big purchases in that department each year, and several smaller purchases. I spend no more than $100 total on decorations/wrapping paper/cards. Speaking of which...

I have lots of Christmas cards to address. Oh, my. I'm not looking forward to that chore. But that will give me more floor space, because right now the storage box with the Christmas cards in it is staring at me, saying: "Please write out your cards so I can be put back where I belong."

Busyness. I wonder what today will hold in that department.

ttfn