Playing for Time

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No matter how many times I’ve lived it I’m caught off guard by the vibe of the year’s final week… the quiet, the heavier sense of import, the urging to leave no wrong unrighted in big or small ways, if only in my mind. My psyche pushes me to process in seven days what’s been neglected for years, an impossible task, but this time it’s lighting a small flame under me so we’ll see if anything happens with that. I love surprising myself, AND I’d love to spend my days with a more spare, organized, informed version of me. So it’s a goal. I have the 2026 PLANNER to prove it.

Christmas 2025 came and went without fanfare but wrapped in goodness. We were able to spend a couple of hours on the weekend with family we hadn’t seen in a while, and then after years of Rita, Kimmers, and me cooking holiday meals here, we decided what we wanted to make for Christmas Day this year… was reservations. Ahhh, how sweetly festive. And soothing. Our server was tall, dark, and gorgeous, grandson age, and possessed the quality that’s above price, a layered sense of humor, thus adding to the good time. The food and drink did not disappoint and we enjoyed traditions like meat loaf, pot roast, real mashed potatoes, lovely gravy, other actual vegetables, nice wines, and a decadent dessert to share, thank you Kansas City for a great afternoon. We may have created a monster, but if so it’s a delightfully benign one.

Christmas Day is a sweet time to eat in a restaurant, surrounded by a wide assortment of fellow humans sharing connections. Everybody’s represented… young to old, parents, children, a whole bunch of nationalities and languages, siblings talking, lovers snuggling, people feeling magnanimous and in a genuinely good mood. We could do with more of this, how about a Refresher Christmas midway through the year?

Speaking of “the year,” I’m not yet fully ready to contemplate 2026. Obviously this post is all about getting there, girding my loins and other parts for anything and everything. Peace and hope to us all.

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