What I did last evening.

subtitled: What I didn’t do last evening.

I couldn’t do it. The Socialist called me an asshole and a few other unkind things, but I just couldn’t go to the movies alone. It was probably just as well.

I got out of work later than I wanted, and didn’t get home until 6:30. The movie started at 7:40. To shower, dress, feed the cats and get to the movie theater would have been a hectic rush, and I decided I just didn’t need the stress. So I showered, dressed, and decided to stay home and take it easy instead. In spite of the fact that The Socialist now considers me a moron, I’m glad I decided to take it easy.

Instead I did three loads of laundry, hung my newly framed “Kitty Litter” picture, finished putting decorations on the big Christmas tree, set up my little fiber optic Christmas tree and put little ornaments on that, and hung my wreath with it’s cute little berry LED lights on my front door. I put the cat’s Christmas collars on them, and finished emptying out my bags from last weekend’s trip to North Carolina. I straightened out the downstairs powder room a bit, and sorted through some mail that had been waiting a few days for me to acknowledge its existance. When The Socialist came home some time after 10:00, we ate a light dinner together, and watched the second half of a Babylon 5 movie (which I started to nod off during).

In other words, I had a productive and leisurely evening. I needed one of those

Today at lunch some people in my department decided spur-of-the-moment to order pizza. I chipped in, and we sat around in the main office chowing on pizza and swapping tales. It’s probably the most relaxed I’ve been in work in weeks. It was a somewhat poignant moment for me as well. I remembered back to last year’s Christmas pizza lunch, when I was a very salt restricted diet. I brought my own lunch, and while it felt odd to the the odd-man-out, at least I was able to participate. I remember wondering last year if that was going to be the last Christmas function I’d attend.

I have a lot of those kind of recollections about this time last year. I remember going to see The Two Towers and wondering if I’d get to see Return of the King. I remember going to my younger sister’s place on Christmas day and wondering about next Christmas.

I know it sounds morbid, but it wasn’t. I was just appreciating things, realizing how transient everything is, and trying to hang onto moments just a little bit longer because of that. I’ve lost a little of that now, and that’s a good thing. But I’ve kept a little of it, and that’s a good thing too. I think I appreciate the here and now more because of it.