Diary Day 5
December 15, 2018
I get to sleep in for a while before picking up my kids at their mother’s late in the morning. I had hoped to get some work done outdoors today while the warmer temperature lasts, but the implied threat of rain all day makes starting a project look a little unappealing, what with some inviting college basketball games on the tv all day.
Once the kids are picked up and we get some lunch, the first part of the afternoon gives way to errands. I have a couple of chores to accomplish inside the house, and with those accomplished and the rain still holding off, am able to embark on getting our holiday lights put up outside. With the couple of strands I usually spread across my bushes inexplicably not working (… really? They are $7 imported lights… I honestly thought they would hold up more than a couple of years?) I elect to substitute some older ones I found in the garage, which –surprise—still work. I spend a couple of hours getting the strands arranged across my shrubbery and along the porch roofline and am now so emboldened by successful light-decorating that I offer to help my mom get her remaining outdoor lights up.
Since my dad passed a couple of years ago, this can be a bit of a chore since it involves trees, ladders and an improvised “hook” device for draping lights over high branches. Nevertheless, we –my son agrees to help at his grandmother’s—get her remaining trees and back yard decorated just as it starts to drizzle rain for the rest of the evening.
The uncertain nature of the kids’ schedule and sometimes tedious work with my arms overhead has left me drained and wanting nothing more than a hot shower and a cold beer, but I have already promised to take my son for some teenage shopping. His sister’s shift at work has been cancelled, and she agrees to go along with us. I follow along rather aimlessly, since kid shopping involves more browsing, looking randomly and trying things on than I ever do on personal shopping trips. At one point I catch myself leaning on the display racks as I wait for my son, mainly because my feet are sore and muscles weary. I’m a little self-conscious noticing this, because I’m neither old (46) nor physically limited. I resolve to straighten up and make the best of quality time with the teenagers. We also visit my college-aged daughter who works in one of the mall stores.
While not packed by any means, it is nice to see the mall busier with more shoppers for the holidays. It is pretty obvious our mall is struggling against cheaper competition from the big-box stores and online options, but tonight is attracting a Saturday night crowd of holiday shoppers. I have never been a gung-ho Christmas shopper, as my list is relatively short and we did not exchange gifts with our children or each other during the latter years of our marriage. The kids tonight are shopping for their grandparents and little things they get for each other. While our holiday traditions have been met with mixed reactions, it makes me feel good to see the kids placing value in small items or just quality time spent together.
Finally by 9 pm on a now-soaking night, we are in the car and ready for home. Tomorrow, we’ll begin the routine again, hopefully with more time to savor the “small stuff.” That’s always my goal, anyway.