Month: December 2020

I seized the good weather today and had my parents over for lunch on the deck. It was so nice to catch up with them. I made a pot of smoky vegetarian posole and two winning types of cookies from the Washington Post, one from this year: Gingerbread Crackle, and one from a previous year: Three Pepper Spice. I highly recommend both.

After my parents left, we took a four-mile family walk through Crystal City, out Long Bridge Park and back, and over to Pentagon Row before heading home. It was pretty lively out. People were shopping, dining (some indoors- yikes), ice skating, and strolling, the majority masked outside.

Tomorrow I’ll have my sister’s family over for an early pizza dinner on the deck and a fire in the backyard. In a few days, it’ll be colder and wet (and maybe even a little snowy) so I had better make the most of it.

Lately I have been saving my workout for after work, getting up a little later every day, pulling on the same comfy pants and putting my hair in a ponytail. My former life had been feeling farther and farther away – the days when I would rise at 5:00 and head to the gym. I’d run three miles on the treadmill and row 3,000 meters on the rower. After a quick stretch, I’d race home, jump in the shower, wake the kids, make the smoothies, and pack a lunch before heading out the door around 7:10.

When looking back at my morning routine, pre-COVID, my first reaction was to kind of marvel that I got all that done and was able to be on time for work for so many years. Then, I just started to feel sad and longed for that rush of purpose. So, for the past two days, I’ve risen at 5:30, donned my running clothes, and headed out before dawn, sticking to well-lit and open areas. I see dog walkers and fellow runners, construction workers getting their machines going, and the early risers walking to the Pentagon and various bus stops. As the first streaks of orange and pink appeared on the horizon, I was heading in my front door. The house was still quiet, and my first cup of coffee tasted a little bit better than usual.

I have totally fallen out of the habit of writing every day (or even every few weeks). My last post was November 4, so at least I can say that I’ve posted every month, but just barely. What motivated me to start typing is a random “like” I got on my post from July 4th. I opened my post and read it, realizing that I would’ve forgotten many of these details had I not written about that day. So, I begin again with nothing profound.

So, I started writing about the challenges of and barriers to being with extended family over the next few months, and then I thought, “Good grief. Talk about beating a dead horse” (what an awful image). Instead, I thought I’d share some images of Christmastime at the Mann household this year:

-Christmas tree with breakable ornaments only at the top (curious kittens)

-bourbon balls and orange-rosemary butter cookies rapidly disappearing from the cookie container

-Edwin’s Christmas village spread across the credenza and buffet

-white lights hanging from the front porch eaves

-my next-door neighbor’s front yard “wonder walk” where delighted children weave through a passage of lights and get a candy cane at the end

-a wine bottle dressed up like a Rudolph

-stockings hanging from the bookshelves (I always wished I had a fireplace and mantle)

-a poinsettia on the foyer table

-the kids fighting over the scraggly Santa blanket from Grandma Ruby

-The Trapp Family Book of Christmas Songs on the piano (a family treasure I managed to end up with – I’ve been practicing nightly)

-Scandinavian Christmas chime (I had to look it up because I didn’t know what to call it

-presents and stocking stuffers hidden in various drawers and closets

Despite the craziness of this year, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.