At first, I was unhappy that my company gave the US employees day off for January 1 on January 3, not December 31. Most of the US companies did the opposite. Since it was an entire workday on a client assignment, I had very little time to make a holiday dinner and all other preparations for the celebration. But boy, how happy I was on January 3!
I had an actual day off, not cooking or cleaning, but a day off just for myself! It felt incredibly good!
I went skating to Millennium Park, and despite the cold weather, I skated for almost an hour. It was sunny; very few people were on the skating rink at 9-30 AM on a workday; it was perfect!
Then I walked to the Art Institute, still before the general public, on my Member hours. I stopped at the front desk, where they finally fixed my app (I could not make it right after my recent membership upgrade plus address change). And then, I went to see a new photography exhibit and thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of the Modern Wing with almost nobody around.
And then I still had time at home to talk to Boris, make quiche, and assemble a standing mirror delivered from IKEA.
And I sat by my Christmas tree: it is still perfect, but I will put it down this weekend. The holidays are over.
Hettie's Reflections 