bah-humbug xmas… sorry/not sorry
Yes, it was a no-show Christmas for me; it meant nothing, and so be it. This happens more often than we realize. I was a full-on Christmas addict in my time. But times change, we age, families move away, and many are split apart by divorce, other issues due to hard feelings, or simply being too busy.
It’s all over, as is Boxing Day, and I survived by ignoring all of it and not buying into any nostalgic feelings when the Christmas music caught me off guard … nope, not going there. So here I sit, outside (which I love) on my patio, writing my blog. I’m back from my morning jaunt in the outdoor (heated) pool here.
My journey south each year comes with compromises, and Christmas away from my kids was one of them. Christmas was changing even before this, kids moving away, and then our Divorce, it happens. We made adjustments, but it was never the same. I’m not going to lie; I do miss those family Christmases; those were my happiest times.
I do not regret the divorce, though it brought about the birth of MY THIRD LIFE, and happy now lives within me. It’s something I never really thought about while married. We married for life back then and just weathered through whatever we needed to do. Fate intervened on my behalf one day, and I’ve never looked back.
Christmas was also a casualty that I had to take in stride, and we do what we have to do. My daughter is having a family Xmas at the lake in January in the new year, and I’m excited for this. I fly home for two weeks, and as much as I hate flying, driving back on winter roads is not happening for me. It’ll happen when I sell my place, but I’ll deal with that when the time comes.
A new year is also looming up, and what will it bring, I wonder? I think I’ll need to make a new year’s resolution this year, and I already know what it’ll be. Flushing negativity from my system by not watching the news and all the political turmoil happening, especially in the South here, but also around the world. I can do it… I can, I know I can… she says as she stops typing to listen to the news, which is all terrible once again, omg!
Well, I guess I’ll finish this later.
This is six days later, and I’m back in ‘my home and native land’, Oh Canada : ) It feels so good, and it’s hard to explain why. This fresh sense of freedom, or it could be that I’m not watching the news at all. Down south, I hardly get any news about Canada, so there’s that. Everything is good here except it’s colder than …
Ah well, I have my winter boots back and winter jacket, and now a hooded warm sweater with the logo of a red bird on the front. I had to buy it at the airport in Phoenix when I forgot my warm hoodie at security. Ah, well, it was on sale near my gate for 50% off, only 40 bucks (American), which is 55 dollars in my money.
I’m not gonna lie, I about froze my a.. off walking from the terminal to my son’s vehicle, once back home. AND it was only minus 8 or something like that. It’s minus 19 °C today (but dressed for it), and we are headed to the lake for our family Christmas. I’m very excited and can hardly wait.
My son has a cold, but so far, I’m okay, which is really important because I can’t go near my great-grandsons if I am sick!!!!! This was my main reason for coming back home, plus a cheap airfare I found. The government gives me a check for being old, but the fact that I can’t live comfortably on it is a pain. So save your money all you young uns… for your old age.
This new year has me being very optimistic; my memoir is ready to be put out there, and I just need to put it into an audiobook as well. My podcast is the biggest surprise; I started it before leaving home to go south. I was five podcasts in (Ask Nana Anything) when the fifth one went viral, when I answered a question from a family member.
That podcast is now at 17,000 views. The follow-up podcasts also went viral, and now I have over 129.6K views and 791 subscribers. Not bad for a retired senior citizen, eh? My time back home here will also be used to strategize how to take advantage of all these new viewers to monetize my blogging, book sales, and podcasts… that should keep me outta trouble, don’t you think?
And that, my good friends and family who follow me on here, is a wrap. Thank you for following me and reading my blogs. I am grateful for everything I have in my life.
copyright January 1st, 2026