Notes from The Farmer’s Daughter – Holiday Lessons
The holidays this year seemed to be full of lessons for me.
First, I learned that when your spouse has paid time off and you take time off as a self-employed person to spend time with him, the number of holidays you want to take can differ significantly.
Next, I learned that if you don’t tell your clients, who hire you as a virtual assistant, that you aren’t working over the holidays – you are indeed still working, and if they need a digital gift certificate sent out at the last minute for their customer, you make it happen. Note to self – let others know you are taking holidays.
A repetitive lesson I continue to learn each year just days before Christmas is when you choose to get married in the few days before December 25th; when you are a procrastinator like myself, you will ALWAYS spend your anniversary shopping for others, even twenty-some years later.
When you go shopping for gifts when you are cold, everyone on your gift list will inevitably end up with blankets, mitts, or something that will keep them warm. It is the equivalent of shopping for groceries when hungry – ask my family what they received if you don’t believe me.
A little lesson I am thankful for this year after last year’s experience – returning home after being out and not finding your Christmas Tree and ornaments strung all over and chewed up by unruly pets really does provide a moment of bliss and relief.
This year, even more than previous years, I felt more lights do lift the spirits. There is a reason my husband calls me Clark (you will get this if you are a fan of the Griswold’s).
The year you manage to finally time the turkey, ham and all the fixings perfectly, last-minute cancellations because of sudden colds results in no one there to witness it. I may never live down the year the turkey wasn’t cooked through until 10 pm.
Plates containing a home-cooked dinner delivered to family members are still very much appreciated, and everyone can still enjoy conversations over the phone and facetime.
If you hold Christmas gifts hostage, it is incredible how fast kids can get over a cold!
A cheap rubber slingshot chicken and sticky toy rubber hand can provide hours of fun for kids of all ages and make memories that will last longer than any gift card or Xbox game.
Receiving a seed book in the mail is a gift in itself, and two might even make you dream of owning a greenhouse or convincing your spouse to build you a solarium (maybe the next holidays he gets).
Unfortunately, mailed greeting cards seem to be a dying tradition, but the writer in me vows to continue.
Each day is a gift! As we begin 2022 and begin a new chapter in our story, may we use every page we get!
