January is more than half over now, and the weather here seems to have been a preview of what’s coming. So far we have had snowed-in days, rainy days,
windy days, and balmy days going rapidly from one condition to the next.
Just now I returned from jumping into the car to take a
letter down the lane to the mailbox. Our previously frozen lake is half clear
but the other half still has white patches of ice floating on it. The outside temp was 46, and I was grateful
I’d worn a warm jacket. More days than
not this month, I have gone without my coat when driving because I did not need
it even outside when I went from the car into Katherine’s house or into the
grocery. I carried a coat in the car in
the passenger’s seat in case it turned colder before I left and I had an
accident driving home. (I used to urge my daughters to carry a blanket in their
car in cold weather in case of an accident—and, of course, to call me when they
made it home safely to their apartments. They would apologize when I woke them
up later for forgetting to call, and I doubt they carried the blanket. Ha. ) Except
for the snowed-in days when the school buses did not run and I conscientiously
stayed home, I have been grateful for our spring-like weather because I knew
what much of the nation was going through.
Yet just last evening when I went to town early to complete
some late afternoon errands before going to Katherine’s, it was snowing hard
during the brief period that I was going in and out of the post office, the
bank, the gas station, and the grocery store. The car told me the outside temperature was 21
and I believed it when the biting wind chilled me quickly. I realized I had yet
to look up warm gloves and a hat from the hall closet. So I better remember to
put them in the car with the coat.
Finally this week I got the downstairs tree put away for next
Christmas, and those ornaments boxed up.
I think this is the latest I have ever been completely de-decorating,
and I put out fewer things than in previous years. So I guess that was a good decision, but I
missed some of the lovely decorative items that I only see once a year.
The post master smiled yesterday when I bought a roll of the
Forever stamps (before the price goes up) and I told him they were for my
Christmas cards. I mailed the last of the ones I plan to send this year—but I
still have a short list of people I want to drop a note to. Because of a time
crunch, I really did not think I’d send cards, but as they came in from friends
and loved ones, I realized anew how much that yearly contact meant. I loved reading the notes and letters and thinking
about the people from the past who are now so far away from our present lives. Cards
have always been one of my favorite parts of Christmas. I wanted to respond and keep in touch, so on
the afternoon of December 24, I started writing cards to my siblings and to
those on the list of addresses I have for Gerald’s family. A week or so later I began writing the
Martins (my family), and finally recently began trying to complete cards on
what I have labeled “Far Away Friends List.”
I did not quite finish that, and those are the names on my to-do note
list. I sent almost no local cards this
year although many local friends I seldom see anymore—and they too are still
dear to me, and I so appreciated the local cards we received. This week I loved
it that we received two more cards—both from young folks that I desire to keep
up with. Now I have to make sure I have
those new addresses recorded for next year.
Late cards allow me to savor them more since the Christmas rush is
past. I hope those receiving my late
cards next week feel that way too.
I also ordered two belated Christmas gifts this week, so as I
told someone, I am ready for Christmas now that January is well on its way to
being over.