December 2021

 QUOTE OF THE MONTH:

“Love is never wasted, for its value does not rest upon reciprocity."

~C.S. Lewis

DECEMBER GRATITUDE LIST

• Two wonderful lunches with the Wilsons and Sarah and Kate!
• Hanging out with Laura and Tara at the Shields family's Christmas event 
• Three fun at-home movie nights with the niece and nephews (Home Alone at the Christmas kick-off with Holly and co, then The Kid and The Beverly Hillbillies) 
•  A dinner at BJ's and a fun Christmas-themed hangout with Tiffany!
• Receiving family photo Christmas cards from several friends
• Two Christmas events hosted by Chet: (Pictures with Santa and the Charcuterie Board party!) 
• Getting to see Babah's new place (and feeling really good about it)
• My new iPhone 13 Mini and some extra Christmas $$ 
• Celebrating Christmas with people I love! ❤
  

What was life-draining this month?

• My anxiety was up, and my level of exhaustion was up.  I felt oddly anxious/insecure about having people over - to the point of nearly cancelling or trying to change the plan, but I'm glad I pressed through that.  And there were more days than usual where I felt a bit worn down by the extra busyness and people-y-ness of the Christmas season.
  
• A minor back injury that seems to have cleared up now, but it was hard having to slow down and failing to complete the Peloton boxing and running programs I had started.
• Feeling some extra grief/melancholy, aware in the back of my mind that when this year closes, it will likely be the last calendar year of my life in which Malori and I were friends.
  

What was life-giving this month?

• Sending out my own family-and-friends photo Christmas cards!
• Hosting good friends at my "Mockey Little Christmas Party!" (and having it go well in spite of my unusually high-strung worries that my house wasn't big enough or kid-friendly enough to be fun for them)
  
• Writing a letter and helping with documentation for a friend who needed help with a college Financial Aid Appeal
• Extra time with my niece and nephews... getting to take them to do a few fun things (playing outside, a theater movie, Target, the mall, lunch, and Petland) and seeing their joy in all of that was great! 
• Our fancy year-end dinner at The Ranch with the Lemieuxes - I looked forward to the food and the company there, and it did not disappoint!
  
• Taking a bit more time to truly rest and recover when needed.
• Cody's "XOXO: Slay Ride" and The Red (Taylor's Version) ride with Robin on Peloton!
  
• The entire gratitude list above. ❤
  

HAPPY LISTS

I Read:  

• Very little outside of social media posts.
  

I Listened To:

• Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (NIV)
  
• The Order of the Phoenix (my favorite HP book)
• Random favorite chapters from two other HP books =)
  
• All my usual favorite podcasts, with the addition of Smartless!

I Watched:  

• West Side Story (the new one in theaters)
• Ted Lasso and The Morning Show on Apple TV+ (got a random 3-month free subscription)
  
• Hawkeye on Disney+ (really great!)
  
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (seeing it tomorrow, but I'm hearing great things!) 
  

I Made:  

• Photo collages for 12 years worth of Christmas recap blog posts!
• Helped build a Lego set for the first time - fun!  And Miss K already ordered more! =)
  
• Helped decorate a gingerbread house, also for the first time!
• Three "Diving Deeper" blog posts!
  

*This recap was inspired by Emily Freeman's The Next Right Thing Journal, and I have now written one for each month of 2021! ❤❤