I made the unwise decision to run the New Year’s Eve 5k even though I was sick because I really wanted the medal. I did ok… didn’t run without walking, didn’t run very fast when I was running, and generally felt exhausted the entire way. When I finished, it took every ounce of energy just to get home and lie on the couch. My finishing time wasn’t bad, all things considered, but it wasn’t really worth it. I got fooled into believing I wasn’t really that sick because I’m not congested, but you know, tonsillitis is still tonsillitis and even without a fever, it takes a lot out of a person. But what’s done is done and, well, I guess this means I just have to sign up for another race!
Author: peanut7312
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December 30
I am not feeling well. I’m supposed to run a New Year’s Eve 5k tomorrow, but I’m starting to think I might not make it. I skipped this morning’s run to conserve energy and hopefully prevent myself from feeling worse, but I don’t think it worked. I suspect I may have a mild case of tonsillitis. Seems to happen every couple of years. I guess we’ll see how I feel tomorrow. Maybe I’ll wake up miraculously cured. One can hope!
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December 29
I feel like I’m in the middle of a Christmas hangover. Partly it’s because my body is valiantly fighting off some kind of sickness and I’m tired and scratchy. But also it feels like we’re in the aftermath of a tornado that was made of peppermint and sparkles. Christmas is over but it still lingers. It’s not bad, really, there’s just a lot less anticipation. Anticipation is possibly the best part of Christmas. But tonight we played one of our new games, Mount Cleverest, and it was pretty fun. It turns out I am NOT actually the smartest one in the family. Or so the game would have us believe. I am not fooled.
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December 28
I ran four miles this morning like it was nothing. Not that long ago, I wouldn’t even have attempted it, it would have sounded so ludicrous. But I did it and it felt good. I just have to stop and acknowledge all that’s gone into that feat. It’s a big deal.
After that, the girls and I went clothes shopping. Christina wanted a nice outfit to wear for her birthday. She didn’t end up with much that’s different from what she already has, but she did at least seem happy with it. Robin and I rummaged around Goodwill and found a few things for ourselves. I bought a dress for Friday as well, and a pair of jeans. I bought sizes that I wouldn’t have believed any normal person could wear, and they fit. Comfortably. More for me to stop and acknowledge.
This year has literally been transformative for me. I don’t know what light bulb switched on, but I’m so grateful it did, and that I’ve been able to keep it lit for as long as I have. We also went food shopping, and then I passed out because my throat feels scratchy and I’m exhausted all over my body. I haven’t been sick in years either… but maybe that streak is ending. I’m going to try to sleep it off. Maybe I can head it off at the pass.
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December 27
We went down to Daytona today to see Rosina and Dion. I was happy they seemed to like the gifts we bought them. The traffic getting down there was horrendous. It took two hours to make what is normally a one-hour trip. There are entirely too many people on this planet, and too many of those too many people were on I-95 today. It was still nice to see them. I can tell they enjoy hosting.
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December 26
My friends managed to get me up off the couch to go see a live local cover band at a nearby bar on a total whim, and I’m glad I dragged my ass up and out the door. I had a blast. I have to think we were the youngest people there – or at least I hope so – because everyone seemed so old. Old, drunk, and crazy! The crazy made it fun, though. What is life without old crazy people and fun music?
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December 25
We had a nice Christmas. Everyone seemed to like their gifts, and then we had a nice dinner with Colleen and her family. We made another turkey roulade for dinner and it was delicious. By the time the kitchen was cleaned up (oh my god so many dishes), I was exhausted and passed out on the couch. Just what Christmas is meant to be.
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December 24
Everything is ready for Christmas at last. I spent the afternoon making cannoli cake. It’ll be hard to top salted caramel apple pie cheesecake, but I’m going to try. We had our traditional dinner of cold cut sandwiches and that was good as usual. Right before we go to bed on Christmas Eve always feels like the quietest moment of the whole year. I find it almost as hard to sleep as the kids do.
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December 23
It looks broken, but Christina intentionally built her gingerbread house on its side. It’s modern. I think everyone’s house fell apart at least once. I’m just sad Billy didn’t build one. His disasters always make the rest of us look good.
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December 22
It was back to work today and I got more done in one day than I have done in entire weeks at other times of the year. It felt good to be this productive. Christina baked a bunch of Christmas cookies all by herself, which is also awesome. Robin smiled at dinner and said words out loud, which always makes me happy. All in all, not a bad day.
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December 21
We went with Colleen and Shawn to the Colors of the Wild exhibit at the zoo tonight. It far surpassed anything I imagined it would be and was absolutely stunning. The amount of work that went into the display is astounding. Many of the installations were interactive and/or had moving parts. I really enjoyed it. Robin was outright bored af and Christina at least played along, but Billy and I had fun. Also today I ran 5k without stopping again and we went to see the Wicked sequel. It was so much sadder than the first movie, and about 0.5% the same story as the book. It had most of the same characters, at least. Once I stopped trying to compare the two, I enjoyed it. And yeah, I cried. Managed not to sob, but it was hard at times. I am a movie wimp.
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December 20
Robin came with me to today’s Santa Run and I had so much fun running with her. She hasn’t been running or training, so the fact that she ran at all was awesome, and then she went and ran half a mile without stopping! We had other short intervals of running the rest of the way, which was also awesome because I assumed she’d be done after that long run. The second best thing about this race is that the medal is both sparkly AND includes Rudolph on it, complete with a light-up blinking nose!! Hands down best medal ever. Probably my favorite race ever, too.
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December 19
I did so much today. Went out for a run, went to the post office, picked up race materials for tomorrow’s Santa run, put up our outside Christmas lights, sent in Robin’s high school transfer request, booked our trip to Yellowstone, took Christina to dance, and went out to the Symphony. I’m glad I accidentally bought these symphony tickets. The concert was great, and it was great to expose the girls to the experience. We are very privileged to be able to make the most of these kinds of mistakes.
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December 18
It was a pretty quiet day. I had hoped to put up our outside Christmas lights today, but Billy didn’t sleep well and wasn’t feeling up to it. If that happens again tomorrow, I may just have to do my best to do it alone. We can’t not have our lights up! Christmas is in six days!! Today I did go for a trail run at Julington-Durbin Preserve, went to the gym, got coffee, showered, had lunch, and watched the rest of the requisite Christmas movies. I started reading a book called Wool, which I’ve only just started but is making me crazy because I need to know what is happening. Robin had a pizza party after school for photography club, which she hasn’t gone to for at least a month. Apparently the teacher asked her to come, which is always flattering. Christina had hip hop and wore Billy’s Grinch pants to class. One more day left of my week off, and I’ll be spending it at the Post Office. It receives 1.8 stars on Google and doesn’t deserve any of them. Wish me luck.
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December 17
Christina remembered she needed to bring her Secret Santa gift for dance just about when we were halfway there. She asked me to go back and get it after dropping her off, but Robin had a cheer performance at school that I couldn’t miss. Somehow I made it home despite insane rush hour traffic, got her gift, and made it to Robin’s game only three minutes late. The game was pretty awful. It was clear no one wanted to be there. There weren’t even parents watching. The boys lost 56-8. I left as soon as the game ended and got Christina’s gift to her seven minutes after class started. Then I had to muddle back through traffic to meet Billy and Robin for dinner, who were already waiting at the restaurant. By the time dinner was over, I was ready to go home and relax before getting Christina, but Billy pointed out that it was already time to pick her up. So I muddled BACK to dance for the third time in two hours. It was an eventful afternoon and evening. But everyone got what they needed, except maybe the boys basketball team coach.
Year in Photos 