Relative Something

Someone I know was expressing distress over the fact that stores are going to open for Christmas shoppers on Thanksgiving day. I understand why she is bothered by it. I glanced at the daily paper and noticed there was an article on the front page, covering the same topic. My goodness, this was Front Page NEWS!

My response was, “You don’t have to go shopping.” And, “You don’t have to listen to their advertisements.”

She said, “They were talking about it on the news!”

Do you know me well enough to anticipate what I offered next?

“You don’t have to watch the news.”

For the record, I LOVE hardly noticing the (in my opinion) non-news that is presented as news. I have seen reports that stores will be open on Thanksgiving day and the information rolls off of my mind like water from a duck’s back. In one ear, and out the other. I don’t care if a store is open on Thanksgiving. Oh, look! Something shiny! Move along, nothing deserving attention here. Keep calm, and carry on.

*****

We had a fire in the fireplace last night. It was wonderful. We can see the fire from so many vantage points. There is a great view from the kitchen. We carried our dinner plates over and sat in front of the fireplace to eat our evening meal. It felt unjustifiably luxurious to be living in this space for our everyday lives. We live in a home that could be a northwoods resort!

Every day!

We have begun calling the loft space “our fort,” as in: “I’m going up into the fort.” It feels like the cool place you would make as a kid, and it draws you to want to hang out there.

We now have new mission-style recliners in the front sunroom. Hanging out in the sunroom is even better than up in ‘the fort.’ The view is all birds and squirrels and wooded wonder, with a sunrise visible down the driveway.

The roomy garage is a joy, the master bedroom is lovely, the room we are making into a den will work nicely, when we finally get it organized, the bathroom is now set up the way we like, and the basement has plenty of potential.

We are doing what we can to keep calm and carry on, …like this is just normal life.

I don’t think our lives will feel ‘just normal’ ever again.