The last two festive weeks

Since I do my annual year in review the last Sunday of December (except when January 1 is a Sunday), the first Sunday of January has become the time to do my recap of Christmas and New Year's.

Last year's (2017) Christmas was one of the best I can remember. This year's wasn't as great. It was good, just not as good. I think part of this is because of all the overtime I had to work on December 22 and even on December 24. I got to work from home, but still. So that I wouldn't be completely isolated from my family, I did my work in the living room while playing my official Christmas playlist of 1,354 songs.

It was good to spend Christmas Day with all my family, including my brother's family from California. The most creative gift came from my sister-in-law, who made me dish towels for every holiday!

I also got an indoor herb garden, some light-up gloves, a dinosaur bedspread, and a few other odds and ends. 

I had to work December 26, 27, and 28, though only December 26 was in the office. That wasn't so fun, especially when I had my nephews visiting. (Fortunately, I'm done with overtime now.)

I have a bit of a hard time connecting with my nephews because they are so different. Their lives revolve around three things:

1. Video games. Last year I tried to set up my old Super Nintendo and some other things on our new giant TV, but I couldn't figure it out. So my dad hid it from me, and I haven't had a need to ask him where he put it. I just don't care much about video games, and they are mostly a waste of time. My nephews just got a Nintendo Switch, and sometimes asked me why I don't play video games, as though I were missing out or something. It makes it hard to spend quality time with them. Even when I play the games with them, I wouldn't call it "quality time."
2. YouTube. I watched a lot of YouTube in college, but it's been more than four years since I've really followed viral videos. Also, my nephews' tastes are very different from mine. I prefer things that are unscripted or unintentionally funny. They're not into that stuff.
3. Squishmallows, which they call "Fluffies." The last day they were here, we filled out forms about our favorite things, and they tried to make "Fluffy" the answer to most of their questions. I got a few holiday-themed Fluffies over the last few months to try to relate with the boys, but now I'm having a hard time finding space for them.
   

Of course, my life revolves around holidays, and yet my brother is one of the most holiday-apathetic people I know. As they were preparing to leave, I jokingly said to my nephews, "So you won't be here for New Year's, but will you come back for Valentine's Day?" Preston asked, in total seriousness, "Is that in the summer?" He's fourteen!

Nevertheless, we were able to spend some good time playing other games and doing other things with them. They returned to California on December 29.

That night, I got a late text asking me to teach elders quorum, even though I'd already given my monthly lesson. Even though I didn't have much time to prepare, I thought the lesson went fairly well. I try to base my lessons around questions.

On New Year's Eve, I worked from home for a few hours, then my family went to see Mary Poppins Returns. I rate it a 7/10 and feel generous in doing so. It relied too much on nostalgia for the old one and not enough on its own charm. Also, they missed the perfect opportunity for a ripped bouttonnière. The original Mary Poppins is in my top 10 favorite movies. (That really isn't saying much, since I watch so few movies. I think Mary Poppins Returns was the fifth movie I saw in a theater in 2018, the others being The Greatest Showman [7/10, being generous again], Paddington 2 [10/10!], Peter Rabbit [4/10], and Trek: The Movie [4/10].)

After the movie, I got invited to a couple of parties—one was a football party in a mansion, and then the other was a small New Year's/birthday party in an apartment. It was good to have somewhere to go for New Year's Eve. But no one seemed interested in my official New Year's playlist of 25 songs.

On New Year's Day in 1959, my grandpa took my grandma, my uncle, my aunt, and my mom on their first date. We've been going out to eat on New Year's Day ever since then.

And now we are in my absolute least favorite part of the year. It's smoggy, it's dark, it's icy, there's no holidays. There was even an episode of Arthur about this very idea. But I'm trying to do better at living in the moment. At least I allow myself hot chocolate at this time of year!