Hitting 2021 hard

January arrived, and we were off and running here at the Florida abode. There were resolutions to begin, football games to watch, a plane to catch, appointments to keep, Christmas decorations to take down, and a lot of packing. 

Two months ago, I forced myself to stay on an early morning schedule, beginning with a brisk walk around the neighborhood, where I met two walking neighbors who invited me to join their walking duo--now a trio. We walk twice a day, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon, covering a little over three miles. Both live on my street in the area I've never ventured into unless entering or exiting my subdivision, and subsequently, I've not only walked my entire road, but I've met my neighbors! So many nice people I've never known. Who knew? My walking partners hold me accountable, especially on the cold days, and so far, I've only canceled once. Even when they've opted out of our morning walks, I've still hoofed around the neighborhood, mainly to brag about it at our afternoon walk. 

The change in our season not only brought cooler weather but the acorn apocalypse. Every oak tree in the neighborhood has mass-produced enough acorns to keep the squirrels in the north fed for three winters. If my husband wouldn't kill me for spending money on postage, I'd send acorns to my northern families to fatten up their neighborhood wildlife. I'm not sure I can accurately explain the number of acorns on our streets and in our yards. Needless to say, one takes his life into his hands just walking outside in our hood because acorns drop fast and furiously and hurt like the dickens when landing on one's head. 

Ridding our yard of acorns has become his nightly after-work ritual, and he doesn't stop until he's filled a bag. Recently, I suggested making a game of it so we'd get up off the couch. We had five minutes to see who could collect the most acorns. Darcy set the timer, and we were off! While I suggested weighing the bags to crown the winner, we instead counted out the acorns, taking turns chucking five at a time into the garbage at the end of the street. God knows what the neighbors thought of us circled around our can!

I was out of acorns first--a blow, to say the least, because of my competitive nature--and I may or may not have started collecting and hiding piles of acorns in the hopes of a rematch. It came down to a duel between Tom and Madison, and it was a close one. Madison eeked out the win by seven acorns for a total of 239 acorns collected. She did this contest barefoot, which I've concluded is the reason why she excelled because one cannot walk anywhere in our yard without stepping on an acorn. I'm not kidding. It's the worst apocalypse we've had in years. 

Oleg celebrates Christmas by the Julian calendar, which runs from Christmas Eve on January 6th to January 19th. He was not happy with my decision to start taking down Christmas decorations before the end of the year, which resulted in me exclaiming:

Me: "Christmas is over."

I removed the indoor decorations--sans tree--first and before New Year's. I needed to clean before guests arrived for our outdoor card game, and picking up and returning holiday items after dusting seemed a waste of energy when I'd be right back to the job in a week. While I did not want to "kill Christmas," as he exclaimed multiple times, I knew the entire job would be left to me, and therefore, I opted to divide it instead of cleaning in one shot.

Tom took down the outside decorations after tiring of the Christmas boxes piled in the garage, and when the ornaments began falling off the branches of the tree, I had no choice but to remove the last of Christmas. 

Me: "After all, Christmas is over."

Oleg: "Stop saying that!"

Our 2020 skinny tree was by far the messiest I've ever had. I'm still finding needles in various places, which is normal, but the amount is greater than in years past. As a concession to Oleg, I have left one remaining decoration.

The youngest headed back to campus on Wednesday before flying to Baltimore for an interview process she is trying to get for an internship. She and I unpacked her things before I took her to the airport where she boarded a flight armed with an N95 mask, Lysol spray, hand sanitizer, Clorox disinfectant wipes, and instructions on how to combat bedbugs in the hotel.

 

Days prior, we had to dig out the winter garment bag for jackets, hats, and gloves. The East's temperatures were in the low 30's, and while my girl might be thrilled about this internship, cold weather is not her thing. Of the hats I offered, the warmest was a Pittsburgh Steelers hat, which also included a scarf. 

Darcy: "Uh, I'm going to Baltimore. You keep telling me to be safe. This seems the opposite."

Me: "When it comes to team loyalty, we take our chances. Besides, we aren't playing them this week. You'll be fine."

Oleg stayed at our house for the remaining days of break, and when Darcy flew home, they met her at the airport, where Tom then dropped both of them back on campus for the start of school on Monday. 

I'm not looking forward to next week when the quiet will hit me, but I console myself with the task of my six new year's resolutions. I'm keeping track of completion on a desk calendar, and as hard as I've been killing January 2021, I think this might just be the year that I'm perfect!