A Holiday Staycation

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

Jack Frost nipping at your nose....

I wish it snowed here sometimes. Not enough to shovel, but enough to blanket the ground and send flurries twirling through the air past the windows. It's cleaner and more charming than rain. It takes a moment to melt and first it simply kisses your cheeks. Dainty snowflakes as light as feathers  shimmering past your window, past the dark silhouettes of the pine trees...

I was out sick last week and it POURED here.



 My view.

I could barely move in my flu ridden quarantine, but the only thing that made me cheerful at all was the Christmas tree and lights I put up the week before, so I shuffled out to the living room. The ruby, emerald and sapphire lights twinkled on the tree of heady pine boughs. The lights flickered off the glittering blue and white ornaments with, of course, Irish's Dalek front and center. With a strong inability to move, but a desire for coziness, I lit cinnamon and vanilla candles, and turned on the heater. I opened the window a crack so that I could hear the rain pounding the roof and I put on the Netflix Yule Log that crackled and popped in the background. I walked over to my bookshelf and spotted The Chamber of Secrets, a book I haven't read in over five years.

Now, normally, I start at the beginning, wish I was further in and then get bored around the 100th page. I've read the Harry Potter books so many times, I don't even want to see the Dursley's. I get enough of the beginning from the millions of times I've watched the films. But, the films are like a quick fix. When the films are over I feel incomplete, like when someone says "Here's a Thanksgiving sandwich!" but there's neither cranberry nor stuffing in it. Like, "Here's the shell of Thanksgiving."

Monsters.

Anyway, I was so excited to sit back and submerge myself in the magic. So I skipped ahead to The Burrow, and nestled in. I made it a good five chapters before my plague attacked and I fell asleep, wrapped in a Dr. Who blanket with my cat curled up purring by my side.

The only way it could have been cozier and more enjoyable, would've been if I wasn't extremely sick. At that point I couldn't keep water down and hadn't eaten in two days (you're welcome for that image). But even so, I felt lucky. Not to be sick, but to have some time alone to enjoy the season in peace and quiet. Sure, hot chocolate would've been great and the opportunity to move more than twice an hour, but I can't help but feel thankful that I got those precious few days to myself.

So now that I'm back at work (Where I'll be the next four weeks straight! *Waves*), I have a suggestion. If you have an extra day or two, I highly recommend doing what I did. Take a day off from work and do a Holiday Staycation ("Stay home" Vacation). Don't tell the kids (or bring them along but tell them the rules of the day), don't tell ANYONE, just take a day for yourself, light the tree, turn on the furnace or fireplace, make hot chocolate and ... Shepard's pie, and read ONLY your favorite chapters of Harry Potter. Maybe the first Christmas at Hogwarts, where Harry gets presents for the first time and see's the Great Hall lit up... Or when Harry spends a few weeks by himself at Diagon Alley in Prisoner of Azkaban... Only the best ones.

Remind yourself of what it was like to be a kid on the holidays, it's totally worth it. Give yourself a break from the madness and be at peace for a few hours. Because I'm sure as mistletoe planning to do it again next year.

All my love,
L.B.