The last week or so, I keep thinking “I feel HAPPY, like something HAPPY is happening! …But why?” Like, not to look a gift pig in the snout, but I like to track down those buoyant little feelings to verify their legitimacy. I have found SEVERAL legitimate causes:
• I met my goal to get the two big Christmas boxes (one to my parents, one to Paul’s sister) mailed BEFORE Thanksgiving. It would have been FINE (probably) if I’d mailed them AFTER Thanksgiving, too, especially because I’m going UPS this year after too many USPS disappointments; but I figured that if my GOAL was “before,” I’d at least be CLOSE. And not only did I mail them a few days before my goal, but also I had an extremely pleasant experience: I’d heard there were long shipping lines already, but I walked right in and right up to an available clerk, and then she was super nice and friendly and the kind of clerk who answers your questions as if you are asking them for the first time rather than as if she is answering them for the ten-thousandth time. And the packages cost LESS to mail than they would have with USPS, and one of them has ALREADY ARRIVED. Compare this to last year, when my 3-day Priority Mail package, mailed two weeks before Christmas, arrived far after Christmas.
• I ordered several hundred tulip/daffodil/hyacinth bulbs, and Paul planted them all, and it is a very happy feeling to have them all nestled down in the earth waiting for spring! …and/or nestled into squirrel tummies, but today we shall choose optimism! And instead of thinking of the upcoming snow as a cold wet messy misery, I can think of it as the hen that needs to sit on the bulb chicks in order for them to hatch!
• After a third year working with the same leftover Christmas cards, I posted in my local Buy Nothing group all the ones I did not want to see again next year, and they were picked up immediately. Then I went back and bought the pink ones I’d responsibly put back on the shelf. I’ve tucked them away with my other Christmas card supplies and am already looking forward to seeing them next year.
• I am looking forward to mailing this year’s cards out soon! Normally I like to mail cards mid-December, but in anticipation of mail delays I am planning on December 1st this year.
• Edward had an appointment all the way in the big city for a surgeon to just LOOK AT a new abscess he’d developed—so, like, 3-4 hours of total driving for a 5-minute appointment. Edward and I had the DEAR SCANT HOPE that the surgeon would say, “Yep, it needs to be operated on—and actually, I have time to do it this very day if you want to hang around!” instead of saying “Yep, it needs to be operated on, how about you come all the way back here again another day?” AND OUR DEAR HOPE WAS REALIZED (apparently the day before Thanksgiving is not a popular day for scheduling surgeries, so the docket was pretty empty). So now the abscess has been operated on and we are no longer fretting over it every single day, and there was just ONE trip to the city, and now we are hopefully on the Healing Upswing part of this situation!
• William had not participated in the flu-shot clinic at his school, despite the school’s efforts and my efforts to nag him. But while he was home for Thanksgiving I pulled him by the ear to a drugstore and he got his shot, so THAT’S handled, and that little hovering worry is gone. (I was not able to get him an appointment for his Covid-19 booster, but Rob needs one too, so I will just try to get them both appointments for over Christmas break.)
• It is FUN MAIL SEASON.
• It is also the time of year to shop for stocking stuffers and other seasonal treats, and I really enjoy that. It’s like having a month of sanctioned impulse-buying. Plus, I buy things for my OWN stocking, and my resentment that I have to do that is greatly mitigated by the happy freedom of buying good/fun stuff I wouldn’t normally try to justify.
Thank you for sharing, now I am happy AS WELL!
This is so happy! I am still trying to get past many mental hurdles to planting my own tulip/daffodil bulbs, but this helps increase the desire portion needed to help me along the way.
And yay for vaccines!
Don’t forget it’s “use egg nog instead of cream in your coffee” season.
YEAH it is!!!
I am forcing paper whites and it is bringing me much pleasure. Your post made me think about bulbs, although it’s a bit late where I am.
I hated Mrs. Everything as well! In fact I hated it so much, I will send it to a runner up if you would like!
Why have I never thought to buy my own stocking stuffers instead of just being sad.
LAURA IT IS LIFE-CHANGING
Sometime can you do a joint what-to-buy-for-your-own-stocking post where everyone chimes in the comments? I would love to hear what other people do when they buy for their own stocking.
Ooh yes! I’ve been buying my own stocking stuffers for a while now, although my daughter is getting pretty good at it as well. And really, I’m awesome at knowing what to put in my own stocking, but it’s much harder for the boys. Oh well!
My stocking always hung empty and sad and no one noticed (husband and 3 sons with nice, fat stockings filled by me). One year I found a bunch of little notions at Joann’s and I made a big deal of exclaiming in surprise as I emptied the stocking. The boys looked a bit surprised but didn’t put 2 and 2 together. I mentioned (bitched) this incident to a friend and she and I decided to fill each other’s stockings the next year. We did this for many years, up until she died in summer of ’20. Now I send a box of stuffers to her adult daughter, and my own fortunes have greatly improved now that I have 3 wonderful daughters-in-law! But I do recommend the friends exchange, if that does you any good.
Santa also brings me gifts I bought for myself and wrapped. Dumb I know but makes me feel better on Christmas morning.
These ARE very happy things. ♥️♥️♥️
So funny, my son had surgery on Wednesday too. Originally we had it scheduled for the week before, when he had school and we all had our normal schedules but I asked about Wednesday and they changed it. It made it so much easier!
Oh, these are all such happy things! I love it. I confess I stared with astonishment at “several hundred bulbs” – do you have a huge garden/ yard? I love tulips and daffodils, I hope the majority are NOT squirrel food!!
Those are all very happy things. My current list includes:
I got some financial paperwork taken care of that I had been procrastinating for quite some time and it ended up being easier than I anticipated.
I baked the first batch of cookies for the Advent season.
I got the kids’ Advent calendars planned and packed.
My spouse and I have our booster appointments on Tuesday and Kid1 has the 2nd shot the same day. Kid2 is still too young, but the Germany government should be releasing approval for that age group in the next 4 weeks (hopefully!).
While I am 100% on Team “It’s My Blog and I Will Grump If I Want To,” I do love to hear happy-mood things as well! I’m so GLAD for all your happy things.
Since I know this type of news is celebrated here, I will share that I managed to snag a 2nd covid shot appointment for my 7 year old! On an early release day, even, so she doesn’t have to miss school. I just hope it doesn’t make her feel terrible for the next 36 hours (it did for me).
We will set aside the frustration with our decentralized health care system that means that I had to keep refreshing the pharmacy website and checking and rechecking appointment times to get it, rather than there being some kind of centralized, no appointment needed clinic. We will be grateful that it is available, and for no charge.
“William had not participated in the flu-shot clinic at his school, despite the school’s efforts and my efforts to nag him. But while he was home for Thanksgiving I pulled him by the ear to a drugstore and he got his shot, so THAT’S handled”
Just change the name to Noah and same. But we did manage to get his covid booster, too.