Scene setting before we get started, please enjoy this Spotify playlist, a jazzy holiday mix that I’ve been playing often: Holiday Cocktail Hour
Hello from the in-between week, the suspended reality that is the time between Christmas and New Year’s. School/daycare is closed, Kev has half days, and I am using the remainder of my vacation days to finish out the year.
On the pottery front, I’m getting back into the swing of production after being swept up by holiday bustle. I didn’t have a big holiday shopping season spike this year, as I’ve been unusually occupied with made-to-order fulfillment since the summer. I never got a chance to stock my shop with year-end inventory, and I didn’t have it in me to push myself any more after months of sustained effort. Instead, I slowed down as we neared Christmas to focus on family time as my list of outstanding items decreased little by little to what is now a handful of (overdue) pieces.
Despite pulling back on pottery making, I still felt the holiday crunch this year, and was in turns motivated and stressed out by it. Each December, there are so many things that I want to try to fit in before the books close on the year. As a recovering productivity addict, I needed urging from Kevin to review my to-do list and parse the ridiculous (e.g. knitting each of the boys a sweater within a month) from the realistic (e.g. sculpting Jasper’s 4th and Rowan’s 1st Christmas ornaments). I even had to be talked down from making two dishes for the daycare potluck because the assignment was pasta in general and I wanted to make a pasta salad, but thought that people would expect a hot pasta dish.
In January, we’re hosting a party to celebrate a belated Christmas for my MIL’s side, Jasper’s 4th birthday, and Rowan’s 1st birthday. Yes, we’re packing a lot into one event. This means our Christmas tree and decor will stay up well into the new year, and we'll have that much more merriment before we face/embrace the quiet of mid-winter.
After the party, I would love to take a break from anything and everything that I can. I need some time to recharge, and some stillness for dreaming, reflecting, and goal-setting.
The past few weeks, like the past few months, have found us battling sickness after sickness as Rowan builds an immune system from scratch and spreads the germ-y wealth. It’s sad to watch his sunniness dampened by discomfort, but after a particularly bad bout, his smiles have returned and he’s even babbling a lot more lately.
There has also been lots of joy sprinkled around amidst what I would describe as a cheerful madness. Jasper is in the heart of his magic years, with a full belief in Santa Claus and a happiness so pure it makes me want to burst into tears. Activities have included putting ornaments on our tree over several nights while playing Christmas music and eating Danish cookies out of the tin, an afternoon spent making a gingerbread house with my sister, a week of fun at daycare/school that included very cute performances, nightly advent calendar reveals, and several Christmas themed books that we introduced last year and re-wrapped this year to be opened throughout the month. We recently hosted friends for our annual gift wrapping, dinner delivery, wine & whiskey evening. This year, Jasper was able to hang out, participate, and sit with us for a late dinner (tickled at the thought of eating a meal at the seldom-used dining table downstairs). During this break, Jasper has also been to a children's museum, hung out with another of our friends, and begun sculpting his very first clay cup.
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