"I was sick over break," I confessed to my team over lunch today.
"You're never sick!" exclaimed one who has known me for 25 years.
"I know, right?" I replied. "I'm still not feeling a hundred percent, either. But you know what the weirdest thing is?"
They waited with interest.
"I was really glad to be back to school this morning!" I laughed.
My friend shook her head. "You must be sick," she said.
Blackeyed peas for luck? Yessir.
Ham for not looking back? Check.
Greens for money? Yep.
Rice for prosperity? Mmhm.
Corn for all that's golden ahead? Got it.
Fried chicken because we like it? Yes, that too.
Add a little Cascadia, canneles, cookies, and a peppermint pig and 2024 is officially off to a good start!
Now about that 5 a.m. alarm tomorrow...
After reviewing my 23 for 23 list, I have concluded that 2023 was a mixed success: I accomplished 12 of the 23 goals, and I also completed many (but not 12) "holiday" months, including Dry January, Sugar-free February, Meatless March, No Amazon April, Social-media-free May, No Buy July, and Jolly Rancher-less December.
Somehow I do not feel more improved, but I'm still satisfied. I have no regrets, and never fear: My 24 for 24 list is already written, and tomorrow kicks off "Aloha January" where I practice ukulele for at least 10 minutes a day until the 31st.
Lat's go!
Still not feeling quite 100%, I decided to take a shortcut and rather than fight other holiday shoppers, order the groceries I need for the next couple of marquis days— New Years Eve, which is also our anniversary, and New Years Day when any family in town comes over to share our traditional lucky meal.
On my list were some lobster tails for our usual anniversary dinner, along with chicken, ham, corn, rice, and some pantry staples. I’m usually pretty conscientious about checking the ‘no substitution’ box, but I needed some milk to get started with my preparations, and so I went through item-by-item to designate my instructions.
I obviously missed something, though, because this morning I got a message that my order was out for delivery with one substitution. A couple of taps on my phone revealed that somebody thought it was a good idea to substitute smoked salmon for the lobster. I was appalled and irritated, but there wasn’t much I could do but keep clicking through to request a refund.
When the order arrived, I was relieved that I had only one package of smoked salmon instead of the four that the notification suggested, but it was still aggravating to have to go out anyway.
“I’m going through my closet,” my brother told me when I called this afternoon.
“That’s so funny,” I replied, “we’re going through a bunch of stuff, too. We’re going to make a donation run a little later.”
After we hung up I took the dog out and ran into a couple of our neighbors. “What have you guys been up to?” I asked.
“We’re cleaning out the storage unit and moving everything to a cheaper place,” AJ informed me, a bag of old binders over his shoulder as he headed for the trash.
“Wanna see pictures?” his wife, Lauren, pulled out her phone. “We went through everything and got rid of a ton of stuff before we moved and organized the rest. Current situation right here.” She showed me an image of a very neatly arranged space. “It even has labels!” she reported proudly.
“That’s so funny,” I answered for the second time today and told them about our planned trip to the thrift shop. I also agreed to take along a box of books they had and donate them as well.
The turn lane into the parking lot was backed up for a couple of light cycles, and when we got to the donation site there was a line of cars ahead of us unloading their cast-offs. “It seems like everybody has the same idea,” Heidi said.
That’s for sure!
"Riley asked us if anyone was getting you games for Christmas," Emily told me, "but since we already had the bike helmet, I said no."
"I did look at a lot of games for you before that, though," my brother added. "So either way, you would have had some new games."
We were talking at the table after enjoying the delicious Christmas feast that Bill had prepared, having earlier played a couple of fun rounds of Cascadia, one of the games that Riley got me for Christmas. And while there wasn't time later in the evening to break out my other new game, Hardback, we made plans to play the very next day.
Which we did. Today we wiled away three hours just scratching the surface of that rather complex deck-building/word game, while others came and went and napped and woke. Right near the end of the game, the sun broke through the pervasive overcast skies of the last few days, and we all blinked at the reminder that there was indeed a world elsewhere.
Sometime this afternoon it occurred to me that I actually have a job and I may have to do some work before I return to it next Tuesday. So preoccupied have I been with holiday travel and celebration that I have not thought about school once since I walked out the door a week ago.
Now that's a break.
