cozy – Sweat & Sparkle

No

We had a busy, festive weekend planned: more Christmas lights, a special shopping event, a mini road trip. How cheery and fun, right?

Except after my work Christmas party, more shopping, more wrapping, looking up recipes, and a never-ending to-do list that keeps growing, it just felt overwhelming. Well, guess what? There’s no federal law that requires us to attend every holiday event that comes our way. I thought about it and decided we would exercise our right to say “no”.

So we did just that. With one simple word, my husband and I cleared our calendar for the entire weekend. It was a rainy, chilly weekend, and we thoroughly enjoyed hibernating inside together. Just relaxing with a book and reading more than a few sentences is a luxury these days, and I loved every minute, listening to the rain until I got sleepy.

We ventured out for a low-key date night, and I ended up buying yet another roll of Christmas wrapping paper, something we absolutely do not need. We have enough Christmas paper to wrap presents for the next 50 years. But it was pretty, and instead of reminding me that we had more than enough already, my husband laughed and told me, “Go ahead and get it.” And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we have roughly 6,000 rolls of wrapping paper in the closet!

Last night, with the Christmas tree lights and mantle lights peacefully glowing and twinkling, I was grateful we shifted gears at the last minute and had a quiet, cozy weekend instead of running around all over the place. Those two days flew by at breakneck speed, of course, and it’s back to the hustle today. We are expecting no less than five packages in the mail today, some last minute Christmas gifts…so it looks like I have a hot date with those 6,000 rolls of Christmas wrapping paper!

Let It Go

Yesterday was a manic day in a hectic week. I left work with another to-do list to tackle of at home, but when I got there, my husband was already home, and when he kissed me hello, he told me, “I missed you today.”

I made my decision right then and there. I pulled out that to-do list…that all-important, must-get-done to-do list…and crumpled it up. Tossed it into the recycling can. Let it all go. I can handle it later. Right now, I wanted and needed only one thing, and it was waiting right in front of me.

I got comfy with my husband, and we spent the evening together, doing whatever we felt like. Nothing fancy, nothing wild and crazy, just leaving the world outside in the cold and enjoying each other. He is my favorite person to be with, and I had a wonderful evening, right there at home.

The older I get, the happier such simple but meaningful moments make me. I am grateful that we have each other. We both have had the misfortunate of experiencing the opposite: relationships with joyless people, no genuine laughter, no true intimacy. We definitely earned what we have now, and I don’t take a single second for granted.