Last week I reviewed the first six months of 2021. We can all agree that the last two years have not exactly been exactly full of carefree fun and would best be forgotten so let’s get started with the month of...
July. This month started out like it usually does – scorching hot and windy which is not a good way to start the last half of the year, especially when you combine fireworks, kiddos, and a few fruity drinks. But celebrate we did with more birthdays and birthday cakes with designs pilfered from the Internet. (Ssshhh. Don't tell.) It was so much fun that we decided to do some more in...
August. Ah, August– a miserably hot month that I usually equate with all the fun of living in a blast furnace. It gets no recognition, no holidays of its own that is widely celebrated, touted on television, or pushed by the greeting card companies, but in our family, it does get a lot of birthday celebrations. This is the month when things seem to ebb and flow in our family. We've lost a few birthday celebrants but added a few so it all comes out 'in the wash' by the time we reach...
September which seems to be the month Mother Nature can't make up her mind whether it belongs to Summer or Fall so we can expect to experience a little bit of all the seasons in this month. It's a special time for our family since we have some very special people born in this month. It's also the month when I remember that last year, I vowed to start next September making special Christmas gifts for all the people on my list. My amnesia seems to seriously kick in about now so it's good thing that...
October is just around the corner and ready to make us all feel like Fall is really here. Maybe. Or maybe not. Hey, it's Oklahoma. She'll get around to deciding what time of year we get when she's good and ready. Is Oklahoma the only state whose citizens get the pleasure of playing seasonal roulette just about every month? We never know how to dress. It can be freezing cold or blazing hot, all in one day which is what makes Halloween such a challenge. Either the kiddos will be turning blue from the cold or dropping like flies from the heat. Layered costumes would be a good invention for Oklahoma. It's a good thing our family has even more birthdays this month to help keep our minds off the weather so we can look forward to...
November. Heat stroke is usually not an issue in this month, but temperature roulette is still alive and well. The pressures of the upcoming holidays start to loom now as I seem to have forgotten how to get started on any holiday preparations before now. I used to be so organized. I'd have all my gifts bought, wrapped and ready as soon as the tree when up the weekend after Thanksgiving. It's hard getting old. It's also hard to plan birthdays, Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Christmas all in one month when you're the Queen of Procrastination. But nothing stops...
December from coming. We have to get the tree and decorations out of the attic RIGHT NOW. Having to put away all my tchotchkes to make room for the dozens of knick-knack Christmas decorations we've accumulated over the years can be very time consuming. The pressure mounts until I'm too overwhelmed to get started with everything that has to be done this month. Shopping, shopping, shopping. Thank goodness for my favorite online shopping conglomerate. I strongly dislike shopping as a rule unless it's for food (I heard that) but this site makes it a little less painful. I try to shop at a few of the smaller Mom & Pop shops just to balance things out and ease my guilt over the fact that I really do hate to shop unless the weather is just right. It can't be too hot or too cold, and it definitely cannot be too windy. Before the torn wrapping paper, boxes and bows are disposed of, I'm back at it, shopping (ugh) for birthdays that start snowballing as soon as Christmas is over, but the tree is still up.
Next year, I WILL get my act together. I will start shopping earlier, just like I used to; I WILL not let myself get overwhelmed; I WILL stop drinking so many fruity, deceptively powerful drinks on New Year's Eve. Maybe. Or maybe not.
One thing I will not do is make any resolutions. I'd just break 'em anyway before the fruity drinks have worn off.
Happy New Year 2022, y'all!