day 280

December begins. Darkest days. My woodwick candle crackles and dances, It feels alive like a fire in the cave chasing shadows onto the walls. Kelle comes on the darkest week and brightens the atmosphere with her energy and ideas. I have a list for us to accomplish while she is here. Today I’ll get a walk, distribute senior news, and put the down comforter on the bed. Cold nights are back. Big red coat is out of the closet.

Senior News

The holiday season is difficult for many of us. The crowded stores full of decorations, music, displays, and hurrying people can be overwhelming. Some of us, like me, no longer have to fill a gift list. There are no small children left and few relatives that share festivities. I stay away from photographs of past Christmases and the memories of excited youngsters tearing in the beautifully wrapped packages of specially selected gifts. It’s a time when I miss my own childhood and think fondly of my parents and their efforts for our holidays. It’s dark outside, short winter days and long cold nights. It’s time to bring out the arsenal for survival.

Put on some lively music and dance! It is impossible to be sad and in motion at the same time. Eat well. Remember the difference between self-care and self-indulgence. A recipe for depression is sugar, junk food, and TV.  Spend time in a way that feels good at the end of the day. Connect with phone calls, send e-mail, get interested in a new project, clean out the junk drawer, or read the biography. Take care of the body with massage, facials, pedicures, and make-up. Get a silly movie and laugh hard or a sad movie and cry hard. Tears are healing. Take a look through dresser drawers and throw out unmatched socks, stretched out underwear, stained shirts, all those clothes that take up space.

This year I am embracing the holidays.  It is easier to accept the inevitable than to fight it. I am making my home cozier –bright colored pillows, lighting scented candles such as cinnamon, apple, or pumpkin pie. To bring the season indoors, I am investing in small touches of the holidays—a snow globe, a pine cone, or a tiny live tree. I plan to keep something "cozy" on the stove -- soup or pot roast. Or something in the crockpot to stew away and scent my home. Or seasonal baked goods – sugar cookies, pumpkin pie or cider in a pot with cinnamon sticks, cloves, and orange peel. I like bath therapy with candles, music—and then slathering on cream before slipping into bed complete with brightly colored sheets and pillows.
When I'm in the dumps, I find that doing service, like volunteering, brings me a feeling of well-being.
I am getting out the rake to pile up some leaves. It gets the blood circulating, and it smells like childhood. I just might jump into the pile.
There is no benefit from simply reading this. Nothing moves until something moves.