A Holiday Break

I want to preface this post by saying that I thought I was doing so well, I really did. But then the holidays rolled around and suddenly, I felt like I was back in September and kept replaying everything back in my mind. Every moment that led up to it. All the doctor appointments and treatments, and all the pain and the suffering, and I felt like I was sinking deeper and deeper into depression. This is my first holiday since I was 19 years old that my husband won’t be a part of. But you know what? I am ok.

Well, at least today I am.

Today is always the best day of the school year: the last day before Christmas Break. Everyone is happy. There are children singing Christmas carols in the lobby, led by the Head of School and the senior class. There are presents. There are my co-workers, some of whom I truly love. Oh, hell. I like all of them but some of them . . . they are my true friends and I love them. We have been through so much together.

 

Tonight I got sushi for dinner from my favorite Asian restaurant in nearby Newark, DE. I brought it home, poured a glass of wine, and shot this photo with my cell phone. The chopsticks are only in there for aesthetic purposes. I am inept with chopsticks and prefer to use a fork. Oh, the horror.

I don’t care if you think less of me right now. But I really do wish I could use chopsticks. I think there’s something wrong with my fingers . . .

I am watching The Truth About Cats and Dogs on TV. I bagged the national news for the second time this week after hearing all the bad news happening on my local Baltimore station and turned on this cute little movie.

Later, I plan on watching The Oranges, which just came from Netflix. It’s supposed to be a “comic tale of redefining happiness.” I don’t remember putting it in my queue and am hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

* insert snort of derision here *

 

Ok, I heard this on the way home from school today and was mesmerized by it. The tune, by Local Natives, just seemed to go so well with my happy heart and after reading up on the filming of the official video, I was even more intrigued.

This is what The Wild Honey Pie has to say about it:

One of our favorite bands, Local Natives, just posted their video for “Ceilings” made of patched clips shot entirely from their phones. Singer-guitarist, Taylor Rice, explains: ”This video was recorded between bus calls and soundchecks, truck stops and stage times over the last couple of months on tour, mostly in Europe. Whether shot in decades-closed german car factories, places of legendary spanish architecture, or on bikes in amsterdam it was filmed on our phones in the cracks between shows which make up 97% of our lives as touring musicians. The themes of surrealism in Ceilings work with the patchwork of days cultures and memories that stream by in a blur on a summer festival run. hope you enjoy the glimpse, most of which has already washed through.”

I recognized the Spanish architecture from photos my son took while visiting there last year and then realized that all of the videos looked like they were taken in Europe. But it’s the song itself that makes me feel good. The video was just the icing on the cake.

 

Speaking of which, I’m closing with this. I found it on onecoolthingaday.com, a site my son, Shaun, told me about and one that I check now and again just for cool stuff. I find that I’m mostly drawn to the bird videos.

I have a busy holiday planned. I figured if I kept active and made a lot of plans, that I’d get through it much easier. So far, so good. Today I planned to wash the car and visit a friend after work, then get sushi and watch a movie.

Done.

Tomorrow I have something even more exciting planned. Dinner with dear friends, and their daughter. We’ll celebrate her birthday.

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Until next time, my friends ~