Yay new car!!

Yes I had COVID . summer 2022. But I don't drink a lot of milk. I do eat a lot of cheese.

The things I had right before the worse day of this was spaghetti M made that had tons of garlic and onions and a different type of pasta than we normally use and then cereal and milk. So I'm thinking it might me a combo of things..

I'm going to try and nudge M to figuring out how to cook more in terms of less bread/flour and dairy since it's healthier.

Apparently a new strange cat showed up on the back porch this morning. Not one of the known neighbors cats. The text I got was "I ran a random car off our porch" which threw me for a minute until I realized the typo.

Dear cat distribution system...we are full up on cats. Do not send any out way.

It's about forgiveness, and recognizing that you can't lean on one person to meet all your needs at a time like this. And various people will rise to their strengths, but sometimes not overcome their weaknesses. But you love them for what they can give you and not fret about the disappointments.

That is lovely, and so true.

When does her winter break start? Ours doesn't start until Friday, which feels late to me.

She's off to take a test right now, as they're doing finals this week. So we've got the same break schedule.

New car and warm butts! Perhaps a big red bow!

Now I want a big red bow on Teppy's butt!

the first without my mom, which was full of love and joy and still absolutely gutting and weird and wrong without her. Both can coexist.

They can. And I guess this year they will.

At the beginning of many of the Jewish holidays, there's a blessing that thanks G*d for getting us to this time and event. The first holiday without my father, I couldn't say it. I just couldn't. Expressing out loud the joy over being there, when he wasn't - I just couldn't. The mix of joy and longing is sometimes even harder than the absence and longing in and of itself.

Yeah, I could use some more joyeaux.

I don't want to say that it helps me out that my own mother is, well, kind of on the Scrooge spectrum. Because, believe it or not, sometimes I kind of hate it(How scary is it that I'm as close as our fam gets to an elf.) Out of the zillion things that will be on my mind when she passes(and, given our current arrangement and the administrative attitude of "Don't know what to tell ya," I get from the lesser powers, some of that might be frightening) living up to our Christmas traditions will never make the list. You probably know this from being divorced, as well as other tough times, Hec, but don't try *too hard* to Make A Moment....in my experience this makes pressure and resentment instead of the memories people want to relive.(My family spent a lot of time Being Okay after my parents broke up. Nobody was.)

For the first couple of Christmases without my dad (starting when he was in the nursing home and not especially responsive), my mother really overscheduled our Christmas Day, and I get it, but wow, was I relieved when she got through that phase. Like, we went to church, and visited multiple friends, and went to the nursing home. All good things to do! But I was fine spending a good chunk of the day at home, and she really was not for a while there.

New car and warm butts! Perhaps a big red bow!

OH MY GOD THE CAR IS SO AWESOME!!! It is so shiny and black, and therefore 100% KITT from Knight Rider. (Or, I guess, Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World.)

Now I want a big red bow on Teppy's butt!

I do have a picture somewhere of me with a big gold bow on my butt*, like you do.

*(Over my jeans! Fully clothed! Just to be clear.)

Yeah, there's definitely something strange about the passage of time (though, seeing as this same PiBoy is going to be Bar-Mitzva in only a few months, this strangeness encompasses others, too).

WHAAAAA????? Unpossible. Nuh-uh.

Separate note, but for various reasons (like, 90% my sister, let us be honest), this is going to be a less-than-optimal holiday season for me, though far less less-than-optimal for many, so yeah. Gentle hugs to all.

OH MY GOD THE CAR IS SO AWESOME!!! It is so shiny and black, and therefore 100% KITT from Knight Rider. (Or, I guess, Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World.)

Nice!!

Yeah, there's definitely something strange about the passage of time (though, seeing as this same PiBoy is going to be Bar-Mitzva in only a few months, this strangeness encompasses others, too).

I also meant to express amazement and consternation at this fact!!