Now It's Here

December 23, 2025

It doesn't really feel like Christmas to me. Does it to you?

Now that my mom is gone, the holiday season just isn't the same anymore.

My remaining family that I'm still in touch with are my sister and brother and their respective families. We don't gather every year anymore, and when we do gather there is a notably missing piece.

It is weird because my mom and I had a tricky relationship. The last time I saw her one-on-one before she died, we argued over her saying that women should be subservient to their husbands. But as long as she kept a lid on her batshit beliefs, I usually enjoyed spending time with her.

She was also a fantastic gift giver. I know that sounds selfish and shallow. But it also feels great to be seen so clearly by someone that they give you exactly the right thing, no wishlist needed. It was about that feeling more than the gift itself.

This isn't a sad post, though. It makes me feel good to talk about my mom. People get weird when you bring up those who have died. They get super weird when you bring up memories that aren't 100% positive. But for me it isn't weird. It's gratifying to talk about things and untangle her complicated life.

Anyway, Christmas.

I took two weeks off from work, which is the main reason I'm excited about it. I need this break. It's been a busy year (by my own design), and I crave some downtime.

I deep cleaned my house yesterday in preparation for our Christmas guests. My house is about 1,000 square feet smaller than the average American home, but it still took me all day. I'm relieved it's done.

(Technically I'm not entirely done. My home office is a horror show. As soon as I clean it, it's messy again. Being the only person who uses that room, I only have myself to blame. But the Christmas guests don't need to go in there.)

We'll have a couple of gatherings with my husband's family this week. After Christmas, I have plans with a friend to celebrate our December birthdays. We always do a fancy tea outing (always great, except for the horrific hairspray-tasting goat cheese from 2022 that still haunts me; I can barely talk about it).

The next day, I'm going over to put together a piece of furniture for her. In my book, this definitely counts as a fun and exciting vacation plan. I'm one of those freaks who likes building furniture.

In between, I'll be going to a concert, eating my favorite Indian food for my birthday, and doing a couple of creative projects. I'd also like to think about what I want to focus on next year. I rarely stick to my "resolutions," but loose goals are good for me.

In 2025 I completed 5/10 of the goals I set, so in 2026 I want to finish up that list and likely add some new ones. Health stuff, financial stuff, creative stuff. Also, reading more books. I watched like 8x more episodes of Project Runway than I read books this year, and for that I should be sentenced to life without parole.

I also have some goals for this website. Small updates, minor tweaks. Possibly bringing a longstanding idea into fruition. Definitely bringing an end to the hated (by me) 2025 Is the Year Of... list, and perhaps thinking up a new list to torment myself with for the next year. I'm thinking about just making 2026 the year of corn, and adding my corn learnin' to a list throughout the year.

(Listen, it's a versatile plant that has a lot of uses. We should all learn more about corn! That said, if anyone has any better ideas for what I should list about this year, feel free to chime in.)

Sorry, that wasn't much about Christmas, was it? I will leave you with my favorite Christmas anything, the 1936 Fleischer animated short Christmas Comes But Once A Year. I can't tell you how much I love this cartoon.

Merry Christmas if you love it as well. If you (like my husband, who is so wrong for it) find it creepy, then I'm wishing you a coal-filled Christmas.