On some level this was a very low-key weekend. We had a few things — a swim meet, a robotics tournament, music lessons. I ran with a friend. We had church as usual. My husband’s brother came to visit Sunday night and we did s’mores outside. I took some of the big kids shopping for new clothes (the oldest needed some as a few of his favorites got destroyed in what I’m calling the Crayon-in-the-Wash episode of 2024 — ugh. He happened to be the one whose clothes were in with the 4-year-old’s…). A crew went to see Red One. (Mixed reviews.)
But there was also a fair amount of open time — some of which I didn’t have the 4-year-old for. So I kept thinking that I should be getting ahead on all the stuff for the holidays. I know December is about to hit like a big storm, and I’m thinking that I should be stocking up on metaphorical pop-tarts and bottled water. I made and ordered our Christmas card. The 13-year-old picked out family pajamas and ordered them. She and I also started on the Christmas Lego set! I mostly have the holiday fun list (coming later this week) and I worked on choosing dates for anything that needs an assigned date. If something is on the list without a date there’s a big chance it won’t happen as — guess what! — the holiday season is really short this year. We come out of Thanksgiving weekend and it’s already December. There are only 3 December Saturdays before Christmas this year. The gift shopping will be something and that is no where near started but it will happen eventually. And I shouldn’t rush through Thanksgiving as there is a lot of fun happening with that too…
Anyway! Perhaps I am not very good at relaxing. I did spend a bit of time working on my puzzle. And a lot of time practicing music for 3 upcoming concerts before New Year’s Day. Also, there are three kid music concerts too in December…
In the meantime, this might be the last of the autumnal sonnets, with a working title of “Past Peak”:
November afternoon, tonight the rain —
for now the ashen clouds are gray and low;
the contrast with the leaves makes things mundane
seem holy, with the forest bright, aglow.
A maple’s scarlet in the cedar trees;
a gingko, golden, shakes a few leaves loose,
undressing just a bit with every breeze,
and by the woods there stands a single spruce
as sentry, soon the only color left
in three days time when all will fade to brown.
We linger in this moment, till bereft
of hue the trees must start to hunker down.
Still there’s this afternoon — these precious days.
Before it withers, all the world’s ablaze.
Mixed reviews for Red One in my house too. Seems to have targeted a very narrow demographic – ha!
@Elisa – the 4-year-old was so upset he didn’t get to go (PG 13) but it sounds like he didn’t miss all that much….And we’re promising him Moana 2 soon…
My in-laws are up for an early Christmas – 2nd weekend in December, and phew… I did not fully understand how that would screw with my timing. We spend Christmas abroad, so will open presents on the early Christmas celebration, and then I head to Berlin for a conference (and erm… Christmas markets), get home, go to a local conference, and then we fly to my parents’. Feeling slightly anxious but we’re forgoing adult presents this year, and doing a pretty minimalist secondhand/consumables Christmas with our son.
So the big things:
Get the tree and decorate it
Put up lights – which my husband should be able to do over a lunch break
Wrap presents
We’ve ordered cards through the school fundraiser, but not a ton, and honestly, I don’t care about cards. Delegating that to my husband if he cares.
Also, and crucially, I need to get out and plant my bulb order before the ground freezes. That’s my do or die for the coming weekend, even if I have to do it in the dark with a headlamp.
@Coree- Christmas markets! Those are on my list of things to do sometime. We did spend a few days after Christmas in Germany in 2008, but my crew kept trying to go to other things and we’d miss the Christmas market hours. Maybe I’ll go back on my own! And see the Christmas Oratorio in Leipzig or something…
I can see that you are referring to December as the month that is about to hit like a big storm, Ms. Laura Vanderkam. I wonder if the time comes when all 5 of your sons and daughters are either in high school or beyond, the December of each year will still act like a big storm. In other words, I basically wonder if it is all of these things that you’ll need to do for your sons and daughters in December that make December burdensome and hence make December act like a big storm, Ms. Laura Vanderkam.
I have now done reading the sonnet “Past Peak”. If I see you include a sonnet in a blog post that you write, Ms. Laura Vanderkam, I will usually choose to comment on that blog post.
Love the sonnet and I’m anxiously awaiting perhaps a collection of sonnets in a future book? Hint hint? They are so lovely you really do a lovely job of conveying the seasons.
@Lori C – perhaps a collection! We shall see 😉