I have a cousin that is exactly two days older than me. We always try to talk to each other during "our" time. Sometimes I will call her; sometimes she'll call me on HER birthday, beating me to the draw. We often split the difference and talk on the day between our birthdays.
Yesterday, we added a new dimension: phone tag. When we finally were able to both be on the phone at the same time, we happily got caught up on the year's comings and goings. She then reminded me that I needed to catch up on my blog, since the last entry was exactly a month earlier.
I suddenly realized that we all do a lot of 'catching up" this time of year. After all, Tis the Season, right?
We vow to write personal notes in each Christmas card, but we usually end up with the requisite catch-up letter. That is easier anyway, and it gives us extra time to catch up on all the other things.
You clean your house before Thanksgiving for the company coming, and you have to catch up on re-cleaning everything after the mess. By then, it is December, and your to-do list gets so large that it seems you spend the entire holiday season catching up.
Cleaning, shopping, trying to get extra rest for the really hectic week from Christmas Eve and New Years - all of this takes a toll on you. For some it is a physical toll, for others it's all mental. For us perpetual dieters, it is not about catching up but getting rid of those extra pounds we have already started to accumulate.
Our diet guru for our support group recently wrote that one piece of pie is not going to make you fat. But if you are trying to catch up with everybody else eating and not worrying, do you stop at one piece? Probably not during the holidays.
I have a really stupid habit of trying to make the pie left in the pie plate be "even." By that I mean, I am obsessive about making each side be the same size/shape as the other. I constantly will keep trying to even it out, sliver by sliver. Weird, right? I don't do that with anything except cakes and pies. Maybe it is because I know I shouldn't eat it, and if I make it look right, somebody will take it home and put me out of my misery before my guilt catches up with me, or worse, I just eat the whole thing to make sure nobody notices it is uneven. Guess where it catches up with me then?
After the big meal, you then have to catch up on the exercise machine. You say you will walk, but it is cold or rainy. You promise you will get on the stationary bike in the morning, but you realize you need coffee first. Then you promptly forget all about it....
It is good to be able to catch up with family and friends, especially this time of year. We all promise each other to call all during the year, and at the time, we really mean it. But then our lives catch up with us and we tell ourselves we will call next weekend.
Tomorrow I turn 61 years old, and I have done a lot of thinking about how much time I really have left in my life to catch up with all the things I wanted to say or do, of the friends that I think about calling but don't, or find a way to pay off that bill that caught up with my spending. How can we ever "catch up?"
I don't know about you, but I need to stop worrying about what I cannot or did not do, and start appreciating what I have done, and finding a way to do what I must.
I have lost 45 pounds, and I am healthier for it. I know I will lose more, especially if I catch up with all the good habits I need in order to be successful. I have a job, and if it goes away, I know I can find another one. God dropped this one in my lap, and if it is meant to be, another one will fall my way. I will no longer worry about what amount of money I don't have, and count my blessings that I have a steady income and a roof over my head. I have family and friends who love and take care of me. I am blessed.
And I am NOT going to fret over a piece of pie or a cookie. I know I will work it off eventually. I am going to enjoy the Christmas season for the right reasons, and the rest will take care of itself.
Happy Birthday, Donna. We are older, but we are wiser.
Merry Christmas, Everybody!
