This season, more than ever, all I want is some additional time in my life, and nobody can give me it! There was a marathon of writing cards, packing and shipping, and finding the last missing gifts, and I didn’t go to bed earlier than midnight (and one day, it was 1 AM again!). So many things went wrong this season, that I can only hope it will never happen again.
To answer the question I was already asked: Hettie, why won’t you skip this season or just downsize – I can’t describe the joy of seeing parcels mounting on my dining room table, going into big bags, and then to the Post Office counter! It feels so good that I was not even tired the other night when I stayed awake until 1 AM. I just feel an adrenaline rush, and I am so glad I did it!
Time will tell whether it was a good idea to try to accomplish the impossible. For the whole week, I would go to bed about midnight (except for Saturday, when it ended up being 1 AM Sunday)and wake up at my usual time, which is between 4-30 and 4-45 AM.
At work, having been in the office for only four days between two weeks of time off, I had endless meetings and then worked after hours trying to do some actual work. I was planning my presents, ordering things, writing the cards, etc. In addition, I had many problems with my conference website, sending tons of emails trying to correct them and meeting with the Talk Selection Committee. I had to prepare a million things for the upcoming PG Conf EU week and manage several 2024 conference submissions.
I took Friday off, and I decided not to go to the Corporate Christmas Party because otherwise, there was no way for me to bake my Christmas cookies. I want to be very clear here: this was not a sacrifice on my side; these are my priorities, and I would be way unhappier if I didn’t do cookies this year.
Lena also took Friday off and left work earlier on Thursday to drive to Chicago so that we could start baking early Friday morning.
I do not recall whether I mentioned it, but this year, due to all of the time constraints, I decided to utilize the Tree Santa company for my Christmas tree delivery because I knew I wouldn’t have time to go and choose it. Since Friday was literally the only day I was at home, I also scheduled the tree delivery for Friday.
It turned out the tree was too thick to fit into my tree stand, so they had to give me one of theirs, and it was not as nice as mine. As for the tree itself, it was fine, but the shape was not as I liked it (too thick in the middle), and the top was “tripled,” and Lena and I spent a lot of time trying to put the star on it.
At 5 PM, we called it a day and went to the Christkindle Market and then to Millennium Park to see the Chicago Christmas Tree and listen to the carolers.
The two “major distractions” of this holiday season (Anna’s surgery and my conference) forced me to do even more planning than usual. I honestly hope that’s the first and the last Chrismas season of that sort in my life.
Here is how I am dealing with this challenge so far.
I had three kids from the Secret Santa for Chicago Public Schools. That’s the project I was involved with since almost since it’s very beginning. I went through multiple organizational changes with it, but by now, I learned to watch for the letters early and not to struggle with the choice of presents; I learned to read between the lines of the letters :). The only challenge this year was that the presents drop-off period was the after-Thanksgiving week, when I had no time in my schedule for that. I am happy that I figured out a time interval on Monday when I could take Uber both ways, with all the roads being empty and the ride prices low. And I am happy with my choice of presents
Since I moved to Rogers Park, I lost the “Adopt a Family” program which was run by the Palatine Township, and I could not find anything similar around me. This year, I found out that the Night Ministry is doing a similar project for families and single individuals in the transition living program, and I even managed to find people who are running this project. The rules (and the amount of information I receive about the family) are very different from what I used to have, but I was able to pick up something for everyone, so I hope it will all work well. My next challenge is to find the time to drop off the presents because I will have just a few days between my return to Chicago and my departure to Prague, and after I come back there are again just a few days left before the presents are due. I am sure I will be able to find the time for a drop off, and I feel very good about this program – it’s like the missing piece is finally found.
I also have very little time for Christmas cards, and for the past three days, I used all the time I was not “on duty” to draft Christmas messages to my friends. That is the process you can’t speed up because each season greeting is special and meant to be for that one person you are sending it, especially for people who live far away. I am done with all but two drafts of the cards that I need to send before leaving for Prague.
Cookies are scheduled with military precision, and the new tins are ordered – not in the cheapest possible way, but just to be sure we have them on time! (I might run out later to get more if I find a non-existing time).
I do not usually decorate the house right after Thanksgiving, but this season, I had no other options, so I compromised :). By the time I left for Milwaukee, everything except for the tree was up.
My Christmas tree delivery is also scheduled, and I will have to be very efficient in order to decorate it before I leave, but it should also work out.
And why I am doing all this decorating right before I leave for a week? That’s because I want to return to the beautifully decorated Christmas house. I am always decoration for myself, not for the visitors, and that’s one of the things about Christmas I like the most:)
The last of my Christmas parcels was delivered to Mykolaiv this week. Two weeks ago, the parcel sent to Kyiv was delivered. That was a joy; however, I understand the difference between delivering to Kyiv and Mykolaiv. I sent both parcels in defiance of the cruelties of war, hoping they would make it in against all odds. It was a completely childish idea, like, “I can’t stop the war, but it’s still in my power to do something good, and nobody can stop me.”
My dear S., as you know, I am keeping close to my heart your words – “it will happen, just not as soon as both you and me would want it to happen.”
The change was dramatic and sudden. My plans A, B, and C for Thursday afternoon dissolved on the spot. I think that most places closed preemptively, just in case, because, in the end, the snow on Thursday was not terrible. The windchill, though, was probably the worst I had ever experienced during my life in Chicago.
I got on the train earlier than planned. and then I didn’t leave the house for a day and a half, except to take the garbage out and boxes to the storage. On Friday, I thought that everybody’s plans were canceled, and since I know some neighbors very well, they might be up to the impromptu party – and we had it, and we had fun!
It turned out that adults like the idea of chocolate ornaments not less than children, and after I explained how to look for the chocolate ornaments, they asked how many they could take 🙂
For the first three weeks of December, my life was so full of different activities that I rarely came home before nine. I told mom that I would take her out to do Christmas things during Christmas week.
Since she no longer takes public transit alone, I could only take her out when I work from home and can pick her up. It all worked great on Wednesday, and I took her to the Chrstkindle Market and the Chicago Christmas tree. The weather was ideal – it was around 30F, and no wind or snow, and we spent more than two hours outside. I was really glad that mom didn’t complain about “how everything is so expensive” and seemed to accept that the holidays allow spending more on fun things. She liked the food and enjoyed looking at the Christmas ornament without looking at the price. She thanked me for the good time and told me that she felt the Christmas spirit and the holiday atmosphere. Which is more than I could expect, so I am marking it as a success.
(I was hoping for fewer crowds, but by that time, everybody knew that the snowstorm is coming and that Wednesday would be effectively the last day of the market)
We are officially in the holiday season. I am trying to book/purchase/reserve as much as possible in advance and see as many people as possible, especially those I haven’t seen for a long time.
In addition, somehow, several doctor’s appointments, both mine and mom’s, ended up in December, so I need to schedule this as well, and pretty much each and every single day in late November – December is already planned. I do not have Christmas presents for anybody, but I hope to work something out!
So far, here is what we have. Boris flew in on Sunday, and surprisingly, the same BA flight, which was so late for me, landed on time, and Boris even managed to get a cab, which is always a struggle for him:). (I didn’t want to go to the airport because the arrival was late, and I didn’t want to sit in the airport for potentially three hours).
Anna and her family are coming tomorrow. I ordered a turkey from the CSA, and this bird is nothing like anything I had before. I have lots of vegetables from both of my CSAs, and I ordered pies from Vanille. And we have plans with Boris for all the rest of the days until he leaves Sunday night.
After November 27, I have something going on every day. The highlights are my cookie-baking days, which will be December 3,4, 10, and 11. On the 10th, we have a corporate party, so it will be only a half-day cookies. I ordered a Christmas tree with delivery and installation from Gethsemani for December 9th. First time in my life, I ordered both delivery and installation, but if I want a tree as big as I had last year (and I want it!) I’d better not try bringing it up myself.
And now I am taking a deep breath and getting ready for the cooking marathon!
Hettie's Reflections 