Manic Monday XII

I’m baa-ack! Well, at least I hope I’m back. In theory this post should be the introduction of a new pattern of living into my everyday life. The last two months (over half of which this blog has been in silence) have been primarily spent in an attempt to formulate new good habits and behavior patterns. The next several months, I’m sure will involve trying to stick to them, but for now, I’m not worried about that.

And writing this post is the very start of what I think may end up being my very favorite good habit: scheduled writing time. I now have a daily appointment with my word processor, a compulsory date with my creative side. I know I’ve shared one of my favorite quotes on here before, from Auden. “The surest way to discipline passion is to discipline time: decide what you want to do during the day, then always do it at exactly the same moment every day, and passion will give you no trouble.” While I know this is definitely not true for everyone, and I believe you can overschedule, for me this works with the things I care most about making time for. I tend to wait to “find the time” to do something, as if it will just magically appear laying on the ground for me to pick up. Writing tends to take the brunt of this particular bad habit, and frankly, I’m tired of it. So (and it has taken me months to figure this out) I’m going to do something about it. Wish me luck! Thank you to all my friends and readers that kicked me in the pants and/or asked where I was and/or encouraged me to make the time.

So what else does life look like right now? A bizarre mish-mosh of fall decorations, Christmas lights, cornucopias, Christmas presents, pumpkins, and rosemary Christmas trees. I’ve never had quite such an odd overlap of holidays, but it just sort of happened. I can’t Christmas decorate full-on just yet, but wrapping needed to be done so gifts wouldn’t be stumbled across, and little Christmas decorations here and there just found their way into our shopping cart and then into our home. Helpful Hint: Never go to Home Depot around the holidays unless you assume you’re buying Christmas decorations…because you will be. A Charlie Brown Christmas tree anybody?

Our weather is schizophrenic as ever – freezing one week, scorching the next. I’m sure my Oregon friends are mocking my notion of “freezing,” but I acknowledge, SoCalifornians have no notion of real winter. We’re on a “scorching” week right now, but as long as the nights stay cold, I’m happy. Winter blankets, sweatpants, hot lattes…life is good. In the Disney film Frozen, the adorable little snowman Olaf sings an ode to summer. I can in no way relate to those feelings. Like Olaf, if I go in the sun, bad things happen. Unlike Olaf, I have no problem with that. Fall and winter come around and I greet them with open arms and cozy sweaters.

For me, fall and winter seem to blend into one wonderful season. Thanksgiving and Christmas also tend to end up a little bit united. There have been years in the past where I already had the Christmas tree up and decorated almost immediately after Halloween. Thanksgiving, as wonderful as it is, almost is just pre-Christmas to me. The two go so well together, and I see no reason they cannot exist in harmony, at least in my own little holiday world. I can’t bring myself to get involved in the ongoing argument over, “Which is better, Thanksgiving or Christmas?” I take them together, and that’s just how I like it.

However Thanksgiving will soon be past, but there’s still lots of time to settle into the Christmas mood. One of the regular posts I hope to do over the next month is to share one of my favorite Christmas songs each week. Some of them will be religious, some of them just fun secular ones, but all of them very, very special to me. I hope you listen along!

Even with the holiday rush, I hope to be able to pick up and keep up this blog once again. I’ve enjoyed it, and I think maybe some others have as well. I assure you, I have not abandoned this little endeavor, and I hope to be able to stay on top of it, without anymore long-term leave of absences. It meant a lot to me to hear other people encouraging me to come back, stick with it. My friends seem to be more patient than I deserve, and for that I am Thankful.