Knee-Deep in December

Life has continued on at the pace of my last post; what with the parties and work shifts and friend outings and family duties and dishes and Christmas shopping and walking dogs and all those small things that add up when you have people over for dinner. Since we're in that limbo stage between Chrsitmas and New Years, Brett and I have spent the last two days reading and sleeping. We're spent. 

Please enjoy this picture of Mom's tea party table for the Guy Girls.

So let's see... Oh! Usually I just slap up our Christmas tree with a string of lights and a handful of silver and gold ornaments. It's just the two of us you know, but since we were the hosts of a Large Gathering, I felt I should up the decorative ante. That's where my "crafternoons" came in. I rigged up this dangling ceiling display and made the stars and odd shaped ornaments out of paper. I did this while Gilmore Girls played the background and Brett sauntered through with blueprints and tax questions. I'm not inclined to spend money on plastic crap and beebobs so I thought I'd just make ornaments out of paper. It turned out be difficult to do this without being willing to spend money on the appropriate materials. So either way, a financial investment will be required to make it look like what I imagined. For now I'm calling it "Department Store Chic."

Additionally, I had all of our party patrons text over a couple pictures of big precious moments from the last year, and I hung them on our Christmas tree. With the exception of one wedding and one baby, I was surprised to receive pictures of rather ordinary days. In my mind I would get photos of folks standing on Mt. Kilimanjaro or delivering a Ted Talk to an enraptured crowd, but no. It was mostly pictures of happy little gatherings with people and animals we love. A houseplant that blooms once every five years. A lunch out with an older brother. A weekend trip taken with old friends. I really sat and thought about this, and concluded that life is what you make it. 
At the same moment in time I had been bemoaning the fact that people are forced to waste their talents in pursuit of financial security. I was thinking of all the talented singers who will never make a living singing or sculptors that won't sculpt and just generally, the people you know who are so much more interesting or funny than everyone else and you feel like they should have a bigger life. I lamented the waste of potential in so many people I know. I wondered if everyone (talented or not) thinks they are meant for something more or greater. I certainly have days where I think I should be on SNL. (Shortly after, I become aware of how much I would HATE being on tv.) Anyway, getting everyone's precious pictures made me reverse my tune. Life is mostly gentle, quiet things. Isn't it wonderful that everyday humans, amid all that we need to do to be comfy and fed, can also sing so sweetly? Or build something so beautiful? I'll probably always think the people I know are better than the famous or well-paid ones, but I guess this is a nice perspective to have in your back pocket.

We had thirty four people cram into our main room and while I loved seeing everyone, I didn't eat any dinner, enjoy a festive beverage, or even have a real conversation with anyone. I was too busy welcoming in, serving and cleaning. And it was still fun! But, that was too many people. The important bit though, was a final Christmas party for Ari, Nate and Birdie before they hit the dusty trail to Athens.

Post house party, Brett and I had to put on our Christmas-shopping thinking hats, wrap up projects for the year, attend a few dinner parties, and work out a menu for our double decker Christmas dinners.

Meanwhile at the shelter, dogs were flying off the shelves (kennels) which was great because something about the cold weather makes more people pull over to catch stray dogs so we had more dogs coming in each day than ever before. Last Tuesday, 31 dogs were brought in. Thrity-one! I've been over there most days of the week lately because we just don't have enough people for this many pups. I cannot comment on whats going on over on the cat side of things, but it looks equally chaotic - especially with this one cat, Lydia, who consistently climbs up the bars of her cage and then dangles from the ceiling tiles.

Let's see, what else? For Mom's side of the family, we did a Christmas Eve gathering with a "southern tacky" theme. Carolyn was inspired by the Trailer Park Murder Mystery party Brett and I went to back in October. I do not feel confident posting the photos here on account of not receiving permission to do so, and the more important idea that really, it's quite offensive. So much so, that many of the more classy members of the family did not participate. This includes Mom, Georgia, and everyone under 7 years old. So, here. Just this one...

Ok, this one too.

As for a more traditional Christmas gathering, we had the Eisenhauer family over for Christmas Day dinner. Brett bought an outrageously priced hunk of meat that he cooked to perfection while everyone else brought the normal things; green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, etc. I know this meal must have been good because Brett is never satisfied by the things he cooks, and for his Yorkshire pudding he said, "This turned out well." So it's probably the best things that's ever happened to a rib roast. Then we opened presents and ate cake while all the little boys tore up the shrubs in our backyard, pooped and farted in the house, and then used a large percentage of our toothpicks to make tiny medieval maces out of grapes. 

Ahh the joys of a small litter of boys. The house felt too quiet when everyone had left - Pippa and the cats came out of hiding to make sure we were still alive. Since then; lawn care, grocery shopping, the consideration of resolutions for the new year (Ha!), a few more holiday movies, and yesterday, I started my final week at the shelter. 

The shelter work, physically, has won. I have hip and leg pains that won't go away, cuts and scratches, and the new ability to determine the health of a poop based on smell. Emotionally, it has also won. I have cried over lost friends; both due to adoption and euthanasia, felt overjoyed watching dogs choose certain people, and taken on the burden of the outcomes of approximately 12 precious dog lives in particular. I genuinely love about forty-four dogs right now. I've tried to stop paying so close attention to the new ones coming in so that I don't fall for them too. Of the 44 I love, there are a handful whose futures feel paramount to my happiness. 

So I've got to get out of there.

The Work Is Hard But The Pay Is Low

The "hustle culture" pendulum has made its way to the other end of the arc and found itself over in the "quiet quitting" section. Since most of you who read my blog are well into your 60's, I'll tell you that "hustle culture" was society's attempt to glamorize the fact that people need multiple jobs to make ends meet these days, and also to make sure that you monetize your hobbies. People have been scampering around working their real jobs, having side gigs, and then making money selling pictures of their feet on the internet. Now everyone is tired of working so hard, so they are "quiet quitting." This is society's response to the burn out; choosing not to work overtime, saying no to extra work, having hobbies for the enjoyment of them, and prioritizing cozy, happy time - whatever that looks like to you. It's America's long-awaited understanding of the siesta. 

I was not a fan of hustle culture. I'm certain I don't need to explain why. And eeeeveryones been laughing at Lue all these years. Ol' self-employed, not money-motivated Lue. "Let me guess, you took a nap and had tea today didn't you, Lue?" People scoffed when I told them I baked bread today. They rolled their eyes when I turned down a high paying bride because I didn't like her attitude. They'd feign too much mental turmoil to ever read a book when I'd tell them that I had in fact, read a book that day.

Well who's laughing now, you quiet quitters? It's not me, I tell you. I'm real busy. Now that doing only what you need to do in order to be happy is acceptable in some circles, I've found myself (and my feller) at the infancy of dense undertakings. The kind that require "hustling," if you will. 

Chilly trip to Cypress Gardens. 

(Predominantly taken to let me practice driving on the highway.)

First, there is the physical hustle that goes on over at the pet shelter. My co-workers' Fitbits are logging us in at walking 15-20 miles per shift. That does not account for that what must be... well hang on, let me do the math... 40 kennels, 3x's per shift, carry the two...a minimum of 120 squats per shift. Then there's the bending and the belly rubs and the mopping and the wild animal wrestling, and when I come home and finally sit down, my body locks up and I get stuck in a kind of fetal position shortly after dinner. I've sustained a number of injuries but the one lingering one is a sharp pain in my left butt cheek through to where my leg hooks on in the front. Something is wrong in there and I'm not young enough for it to heal before my next shift anymore. 

From a mental, social, and leadership standpoint, the shelter is what the kids call a "dumpster fire" and I'm mentally on my way out of what was always going to be a temporary situation. 

And that's because I have a new undertaking - a new business to start. I don't know how to do it, and I'm not sure that I should, and I have no idea what to charge, but I've started building the website and a business plan. I'll describe it to you shortly - still trying to understand it myself. And you know EisenEars started his business earlier this year. It started out with a bang and now that he's caught up, he's had to actually come up with a marketing strategy and niche, and all those things you have the luxury of ignoring when all of your business comes from word of mouth. Look at us early-late thirty-somethings, staring at our respective screens all day to do work that makes us happy. The American dream.

I've also got my chicken group working on a big campaign to get veg-options onto menus in local restaurants. (I must admit this is partially self-serving.) I like telling people what I'm up to with my chicken group because the phrase "chicken group" seems to make people laugh. 

Most importantly, it's the season for holiday parties and Brett and I have been on a real bender. There's something every night! We're both mad about it because we're bored most of the year and there are few parties. Now there are too many and we are both introverts, so it wears us out. This Saturday we are hosting a sizable group for the annual Christmas party that goes on at Ari and Nate's house, but since they sold their home and are packing up, it got moved to our house. Once located at our house, Brett and I felt like we should invite our own friends, and now we have more butts than chairs. The fun news is that it has resulted in much holiday creativity, and what I cleverly referred to as "crafternoons" which resulted in a pitying look from Brett.

As for my family; we had a nearly-full Thanksgiving table, Nick and Liv got a severe case of the flu, Beans has become utterly obsessed with Dad, Mom and I did some pre-Christmas shopping, Ellen and I went out for lunch (we never do that!), and coming up tomorrow, the Guy Gals (and Ellen and me) are having a little Christmas tea party at Big Mama's house. (I know - it's a tough life.) Popples U has gotten into the non-profit spirit and gotten hooked up with a guy that helps low income folks with home-based woes. I'm sure there is a better way to describe it, but Dad's involvement is also in it's infancy, so all I can really tell you is that he'll be able to use his construction and tinkering knowledge to benefit others - something he's been doing for free all this time anyway.