2015, A New Year Begins With Cheer, Ends With Sadness

The year ended with a bang - or rather, a whole lot of bangs.  Man those fireworks were loud!  I wish I could say we were partying and celebrating with lots of horns and streamers.  Nope; we were home, my 2 youngest and I, and we hugged and said Happy New Year, then went to bed.  R, my oldest, did go out with his friends, but the rest of us relaxed at home and tried to keep Molly calm.  All the noise made her jumpy.  We ushered in the new year the way we'd like to live the rest of the year:  quietly, peacefully, joyfully.

I slept later than usual this morning.  It was 7:30 before I opened my eyes.  There's only one reason that ever happens: I'm not feeling all too great.  My allergies and my sinuses are not working well together, and it seems the allergies are winning.  I've had to take my allergy medicine twice today which is unusual this time of year.  My eyes are itchy too; I wondered last night if it was the makeup that was making my eyes itch, but I'm not wearing any now and still they are itchy and watery if I don't take my sinus medicine.  I'm really praying the weather makes a change.  It's warm and humid out, and that's making the pollen happy and me unhappy.  I've heard others are suffering as well.  If only it would rain, and the temperatures would drop, we'd all feel a whole lot better.

Today has been "put away the Christmas decor" day.  I need to get it all packed up before Monday when school starts up again.  I've gotten a lot done, but I'm not nearly finished.  I started at 10:30 this morning, after having breakfast and watching Shelbey's new video on her 2014 favorites.  The first step is to put away all the ceramic music playing figurines in their respective boxes.  This is probably what takes me the longest.  I have kept each of the boxes and packing material that my collectibles have come in.  This not only keeps them protected, it helps them retain their value.  Not that I'm selling them anytime soon; I don't think their that valuable yet anyway.  But to me they are.  I began selling Christmas Around The World before my son E was born, almost 20 years ago, and each year I added on to my extensive collection.  Each piece has memories attached to them, and I want to preserve them as long as I can.  So I bring the boxes out and get to work packing them away.  Once that's done, the tree has to be put away and the furniture put back in its place.  My daughter wants me to leave all the furniture the way it is; she thinks it's pretty comfortable.  Besides, she and her brothers do most of the moving, and I'm sure she's trying to get out of having to do it ;-).  I said I'd think about it.  The biggest issue is the furniture that's in the living room.  That's the first room in the house, the room everyone comes into when they enter our home, and the furniture in there right now is what the kids had when they were in college up in Central Florida 3 years ago.  You'd think that furniture that's only 3 years old would look pretty decent, but these were purchased at a furniture outlet store at a cheap price.  The furniture is all saggy and uncomfortable.  It isn't dirty, but because it sags it looks dingy.  I'm not in a position to buy new furniture right now, so I've covered the sofa with a blanket to try and hide how bad it looks.  It's not working too well.  That's why I prefer to have the sofa and love seat in the family room, where it isn't seen.  That isn't very accurate, though.  Whenever we have people over, they all congregate in the kitchen and family room anyway.  My dream would be to get Laz-Y-Boy furniture for the living room.  We got Laz-Y-Boy for the family room about 12 years ago, and that's the furniture we have there now.  It is the most comfortable furniture I've ever sat on, even after having it all these years.  It has been our everyday furniture, too, not the fancy stuff that nobody sits on.  This furniture has taken a beating, yet it still looks nice.  Maybe I need to start saving for that.

My daughter volunteered to bring pizza which was welcome since I was tired from working.  We took a break to eat, and afterwards I decided I'd put as much away as I was going to for the day.  So I started cleaning up the kitchen, and my phone rang.  We had been waiting for this news, but it's still painful to hear.  Grandma Maria has gone to be with Jesus.  She lived a long and fulfilling life; now her pain has ended, and she can be at peace.  For the family it is very difficult, even though the news was expected.  She was and will always be much loved.  Saying goodbye is never easy.

My niece and nephews will be coming to stay overnight, since their mom has to take care of the details.  So tonight's post will close a bit early as we grieve our loss and rejoice at heaven's gain.  Remember to hug your loved ones today.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow.  Good night.