Christmas Comes But Once a Year

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Baubles on a Christmas tree

Christmas comes just once a year but when it does it lasts a long time! At least that's how it feels after hosting the family for 8 days. Of course it was great to be back together once more but having 5 adults in the house for that long, increased by day visitors and on one night an additional overnight guest, is something neither Mister E nor I are used to anymore.

Retirement has given us the house to ourselves, day and night, week after week. Sharing our space with others is somewhat strange, as well as tiring (or maybe that's just the thought of all the bed linen and towels that now need washing!).

Lolling with a post-Christmas fatigue, normality is slowly being restored, or it  would be if I wasn't suffering from a running nose and sneezing. Typical Christmas guests, they may have gone but they always leave something behind and this year it was their colds. Proud of our potential Covid immunity after succumbing in October, we thought we'd  breeze through the indoor socialising free of risk or impediment. Trouble is, trapped in our little retirement bubble and following those long periods of isolation, we're probably the nearest things to rhinovirus magnets anybody is likely to meet. 

Somewhat like the novelty of being invaded by guests, yielding to infectious microbes feels like a new experience too. Thank goodness we are still young and healthy enough to survive on both fronts even if I have found myself fantasising about a time in the future when role reversal might play out and our progeny host us instead. The thought of that armchair by the Christmas tree in somebody else's home starts to appeal more and more as I get older and that despite the fact that everyone was good in taking a share of the cooking and clearing away .


Incidentally the jigsaw was a big success, although by Day 4 it too had us embroiled in a war of attrition successfully countered by Dilly and the youngest. The next generation cracked the codes to enable us to successfully escape from our Prison Break Escape Room; they dominated a game of Idioms and quashed us in our annual Boxing Day Quiz. Gone are the days when Mister E and I could easily take the spoils of the victor.

Yes, we are changing and Christmas is changing with us.

 


Comments

Gill - That British Woman said…
I am with you, you get used to being on your own that's for sure. Back to peace and quiet again for you. I am struggling with a puzzle at the moment, could do with some help!!
31 December 2022 at 01:12
Caree Risover said…
Ha,ha if I’d known about your puzzle, I would have sent them round!
31 December 2022 at 08:27
Mona McGinnis said…
I hear you, Caree. The preparation leading up to 9 days of "revelry" that included prepping a rental property & 8 hrs of travel in wintery road conditions has left me longing for peace & quiet as the new year rolls in. Happy New Year to you.
31 December 2022 at 12:52
Caree Risover said…
Early night for you then Mona (!) and may 2023 bring you some of that peace and quiet you surely deserve.
31 December 2022 at 13:04
Treaders said…
I didn't have my glasses on when I read that and wondered (initially) how you had become a "rhinoceros magnet"! Getting blind as well as old here too then! And I agree, while it's lovely to see everyone the "hard work" part of it gets harder as time goes on, doesn't it!
31 December 2022 at 14:56
RetirementCoffeeShop said…
Christmas is wonderful, magical and also a little stressful. I feel calmer and more relaxed now that the Christmas decorations, trees and lights are all packed away in the attic until next year. After a month of constant Christmas in the house it is nice to get it cleared out. Now, bring on 2023! Happy New Year!
31 December 2022 at 15:36
Caree Risover said…
Treaders, it did feel as though we were in the middle of a wildlife park on occasions, if that helps, but yes this ageing thing (blindness and fatigue) definitely creeps up on you.
31 December 2022 at 15:52
Caree Risover said…
RetirementCoffeeShop, I am in awe - my next stressful job will be taking down the decorations but I do tend to leave it until closer to Twelfth Night (more because I hate the task than love the tree and clutter).. My best wishes for the dawn of 2023 in your calm, relaxed and fairy light free home.
31 December 2022 at 15:58
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