The Annual Dec 24th Story

 I'm offering an alternative to my annual Dec 24th story - because it's not very good. Here are some very impressive gingerbread houses. Scroll past the first few posts - until you see the first gingerbread house. They are very cool. https://www.instagram.com/omnigrovepark/

I also enjoyed these gingerbread houses from NYC. LINK to NYC gingerbread houses

This was the card in Lauren's 2021 mailing.

This year's story started on Dec 23, 2021 when MrW arrived in Chicago. I had flown in on Dec 16th to help with the first week of winter break. I had left a bag of presents for MrW to bring in his vehicle. Sadly, he forgot the bag of presents. My very first thought was: Actually, this will make a wonderful rant for the blog.

I had to decide how to respond to MrWs forgetfulness. My memory is so spotty, that I figured it was probably better for me that he was having his own episodes. Perhaps it makes me look good. It's hard to be annoyed with MrW because he is probably very frazzled at all the things he has to do that I don't do (yet). Healing the brain is not a purely physical thing, where you can restore specific parts, like muscles, bones, etc. Gray matter is a little too *fluid.*

***Inserting this comment in real time. When I wrote that last part - I was just 6 months out from my brain injury and had not even started rehab - so I was in a very weird zone of adapting to the new reality - but very uninformed about the reality of where things might be going.***

Now I am writing on Dec 31, 2021 - we are home from the holiday trip to Chicago - and I have not gotten the presents sent. I've been reflecting on how many miserable things happened in 2021 and then I thought - gee, maybe I could just keep a running list of all the bad stuff that happens in 2022. I could park it in my blog. I have 357 days to decide if this is a good idea or a bad idea.

It been a week since Xmas - and already the forgotten Xmas presents do not seem like such a big deal. Maybe we can start a new tradition where the Wilson presents arrive on Jan 23rd, John Hancock's Birthday.

***

March 13 update. I never bothered sending the presents. I am going to fly in to Chicago at the end of March and MrW will drive in in mid-April. I'll give him the bag of presents and maybe he'll remember them. If not - no big deal. It seems like nothing bothers me any more. As long as WWIII has not started (officially) that's about all anyone cares about these days. 

***

May 29 update. We had to cancel MrWilson's trip to Chicago because those of us in Chicago had covid. New plan. Open the presents when the grandkids are in Iowa in June. Obviously, I forgot all about my good idea to keep a running list of all the bad things that happen in 2022 - which is just fine because it was  not a good idea. Maybe I'll keep a list of all the good things that happen.

***

Oct 30 update. Well, I see that I completely forgot about adding things to the good/bad list for 5 months. May, June, and July were the months I focused on out-patient brain rehab. I learned to ignore things like good and bad. I learned that brain rehab is some kind of abstract adventure. I learned that all those things like proper food and exercise will do more towards rehabbing than anything else - IF you can maintain a mindfully healthy attitude about everything they teach you AND maintain balance so that you do not tip yourself into the overboard side of healthy eating and fitness. Did I mention how abstract it is?

Seriously, it is like being a character in a movie - and they all think it is real life - but you know you can't tell them it's a movie because then you will appear to have lost touch with reality.

***

Blah-blah-blah. I'm disappointed in this Dec 24th story. But, I'm not going to let it bother me. Thanks again to all my pen pals who wander/meander/trek and cross paths with me either in real life or virtually. 

***

Wrapping up the original story. One of the presents for the grandkids was a cake decorating set. I finally got it to Chicago when I was there in the middle of October and we made gingerbread men shaped cookies - and then piped skeletons on them. I did a ton of frosting based activities when my kids were little - and sadly - gave away all my decorating supplies. I was shocked at what a mess it was and regretted the idea of getting back into it. I was reminded that my kids never wanted to do anything that I wanted to do -- so I got to do all my decorating in peace. They would be off doing their own thing.  Sorry I can't show my grandkid's faces -- they're cute-- but - my daughter and I do not post their images on the internet. She did say that she is interested in trying some decorating on her own. I urged her to buy the buckets of pre-made Wilton frosting. I always made my own -- because the buckets were not available back in the olden days. I will encourage her to try the royal icing made with meringue powder. It is much easier than buttercream and reduces the amount of sugar that is ingested. 

So -- that's the Christmas Eve story. I hope everyone is adjusting to (coping with) whatever is going on - and that you all know how much I enjoy my pen pals.

Best wishes to everyone.