Christmas cards and countdowns

January 3, 2022

Starting the new year is stressful. People ask about new year's resolutions. I don't really make them, going instead with the general plans I always have. It's a bit different for the year 2022, as I am finally, finally, finally retiring. 

I would have been retired several years ago if the government had not fucked with the health insurance system. Free ME? Hell, no. It shackled me. Of course, I'm one of those who have always held a job and we're the ones punished for that. But I digress...

Yes, I'm bitter about having to work extra years. And I digress yet again...

This morning I almost took down the Christmas cards. It's my tradition to attach them to the basement door as they arrive each year. I took a picture and then got sidetracked before I could remove them. It'll happen sometime today. 

Christmas cards are a wonderful old tradition. Social media is fine, but there's something special about holding a greeting card in your hand. The person who sent it to you also held it and that's a connection you can't get from a digital card. 

I'm sure one of these days it will reach a point where no one sends cards. No one except me. As long as I can afford stamps, I'll continue the tradition. Some things should not be forgotten.

 _*_*_*_*_*_*_

 KC Kendricks

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Thanksgiving changes

November 24, 2016

The "holidays" bring a set of expectations to the door. We all get the yearly visit. While the particulars vary, the overall similarities are part of the American culture. We celebrate and give thanks with family, friends, and food.

The gatherings of my youth are but fond memories. The older generations, those people who passed the family name down, are gone. What remains of my parent's generation is fractured by death and ill health. My generation is equally scattered on holidays, busy with the younger generations of children and grandchildren. I have no biological children. My father has been gone for many years. My mother has Alzheimer's. The sister of my heart moved away. I am, for all intents and purposes, alone on this day, without blood relatives who share my memories. 

That's not to say I don't have people around me. My online posse is far-flung but wishes for a happy day arrived. My partner is the oldest of his siblings and we have an unconditional welcome at his youngest sister's house all days. 

Life goes on in different directions. We had a traditional Thanksgiving meal at the care facility with my mother. Afterward, we had traditional Thanksgiving dessert at his sister's house. 

So while the day didn't unfold as in year's past, it was nonetheless a good day. I could be morose that the beautiful memories of yesteryear will not be re-lived, but I'm not. This is what I have now, today, and I count my many blessings. 

Now that my partner and I are finally home again and into our comfortable old clothes, it's time to call a few of my cousins. It's time to embrace a new normal and make it my own as I go forward in life. I'm sure it will provide a new set of Thanksgiving memories, and Thanksgiving opportunities to enjoy and to be thankful for. 

KC Kendricks

www.kckendricks.com

Starting the New Year by Tossing it Out A-Z with Arlee Bird

January 1, 2012

I like to attack the new year not as a time to take charge of life's little annoying foibles and vow to do better, but as the time to brush off the so-called "failures" and move forward on the successes. I'm off to a flying start with a guest blogger appearance on Arlee Bird's Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog. I completed the 2011 A-Z Challenge and I'm looking forward to 2012.

If you're a writer, and yes, bloggers are writers, too, then think about accepting the 2012 challenge. Meet the call.

* * * * *

This New Year finds me delving into my family tree. It's been interesting to gather confirmation of connections my grandmother spoke of so many years ago. I wonder why I waited so long to do this, but I know the answer. As with all things, the right season in my life had to arrive.

When I opened my calendar this morning, Nickelback greeted me with Bottom's Up. Ha! I behaved last night and didn't need the little jab at myself in case of morning after lethargy. We stayed home last night, sharing a bottle of wine over Cowboys and Aliens. And speaking of wine, I've added a page to my website about wine. I'm sure true wine connoisseurs will laugh like hyenas over my choices, but I need to keep track of what I like somehow. It's a work in progress.

But back to the calendar. January is blessedly - and purposefully - empty of a lot of activities. (I just had the thought I should fill this paragraph with a bunch of "ly" words in case my editor should read it - but I most assuredly won't.) I have a deadline to meet, and January is reserved for some serious writing time. January is finally "Justified" month, too. For all you fellow Raylan fans, January 17th is the season three blast off.

Growing up, my life didn't lack traditions, but one tradition my family missed the New Year's Day meal. Maybe after all the Christmas festivities, my grandmother, mother, and aunts were too tired to even think about another gathering. Who knows? It was different in my partner's family and to that end we're fixing dinner again today. Maybe I need a recipe page on my website, too. I've got a lot of extra space to use. I'll have to think about that (says the one who tries to avoid cooking).

It's time to wrap it up and get on with the day. Taking the Christmas tree down on New Year's Day is a family tradition I need to keep this year. I've often left my tree up through Epiphany, but this year it needs to come down today. I need to restore order in my home and get back to writing.

Darn...that almost sounds like a new year's resolution.

KC Kendricks
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Starting the New Year with a new review for Tango in the Night

January 1, 2010

New Year's Day. Having survived the top of an icy mountain last night in pursuit of a fancy steak dinner, I am staying home today. Home, where it's safe, warm and dry. So what if I'll have to (maybe) do laundry?

I enjoyed the fancy dining last night. Dressing up and going out once a year is a good thing. Sequins, cashmere, pearls - deep inside, that is the real me. Most days, though, it's jeans and sweaters - and yes, pearls. At least pearl earrings.

Traditionally, in my family, New Year's Day is when the Christmas decorations are taken down and packed away until next year. When I first moved into my own home, I followed that tradition for a few years, then decided I'd wait until the Saturday after the holiday. It wasn't long until De-Decorating Day became the Saturday after Epiphany. This year, thanks to my cat, the tree came down (literally!) early, so this morning I packed up everything else and stowed the boxes up on the cold attic.

Part of me feels sad that all that bright finery is religated to endure winter cold and summer heat in darkness. Some tiny part of me is in those boxes every year, and yet perhaps the only way to really enjoy the sparkle and glitter is to be without it for a time. The new year will fly by fast enough, and in the blink of an eye, it will be Thanksgiving, and I'll be up in the cold attic sliding the boxes down the ladder for my partner to catch.

This new year of 2010, or 2K10 as some call it, started out with a new review of Tango in the Night. Literary Nymphs gave the story 4.5 Nymphs, and a sparkling review. What kind words from Mystical Nymph! She closed the review with this: "Read this one and enjoy. I know I did." Read the full review here. My warmest thanks go to Mystical Nymph for helping me start the new year on a high note.

So now I've blogged and told everyone about the new review. I guess that means it's time to come back down to earth and do my household chores - wearing my pearl earrings, of course.



KC Kendricks
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