If we were having coffee today… it would probably be through Zoom or Facetime since I wouldn’t want to get you sick! That’s right—with just a few weeks left of the year, I got my first illness. A good run, wouldn’t you say? Thankfully, it’s not Covid (I’ve tested twice); just your run-of-the-mill virus. I started feeling grody on Sunday afternoon with a slight sore throat and then when I decided to go to bed at 9:30 p.m., I knew something was up. I woke up on Monday with a severe sore throat, a runny nose, and an overall blah feeling. I worked for about an hour in the morning and then took a long nap in the afternoon, ordered Panera soup for an early dinner, and watched copious amounts of TV all day. (I’m loving Squid Games: The Challenge.) I felt a little better yesterday—no more sore throat but dealing with a stuffy nose, chest congestion, and cough. Nothing too terrible! I’m just not used to being sick, so I’m a bit of a baby about it.
If we were having coffee today… I’d talk to you about my uncle. Though we were all hoping he’d make it through the holidays, we do not have much longer with him. He is currently undergoing care in hospice and has stopped responding to his daughters, which is heartbreaking for them. He’s only 60 and they are only in their late 20s… far too young for him to die and for them to deal with his death. We are making preparations for his memorial service and what comes next. To that end, I’m going to leave a link for the GoFundMe that my cousins have set up for him. Death is an expensive endeavor, made even more expensive for someone who does not have health insurance or life insurance. They are looking at spending thousands just for the simplest cremation and service, and are hoping to offset some of those costs with this page. (An update here that I really didn’t expect to make: My uncle passed away early this morning.)
If we were having coffee today… I’d probably need a distraction from thinking about my uncle, so I’d tell you about the sweetest package I received from Daria, who was my Secret SANta this year! Everything I pulled out from the box she sent me made me gasp with pleasure! There was the sweetest cat mug that has a fun, unique shape, a slew of Korean sheet masks that I will definitely put to good use, a pair of turquoise earrings that are so pretty, a Homesick candle for New Jersey (where Daria lives!), and a great book called “Things to Look Forward To” that I’ve already enjoyed paging through. What a delightful gift! Thank you, Daria!
If we were having coffee today… I’d talk about how I’m a little stressed out about my editorial calendar for the last half of December and into January. Typically, I write all of my “Best Of” posts at the end of the year and into a week or two of the new year. I go through a lot of reflection posts: blogging, podcasts, books, memories, goals, etc. It’s a process! And it’s one I love. But since I’ll be on vacation the last week of the year, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get all of those posts written and scheduled before I leave. Which means January might be a big month of 2023 reflection! Get excitedddd.
If we were having coffee today… I’d have to talk about my cats, of course! They just started their 2023 advent calendar—I was happy to find a treat-based advent calendar at Target. The toy calendars are fun, but they don’t really play with the toys from those calendars all that much so I like this option much better. Other than that, the girls have been great! Eloise has been a wonderful nurse to me this week (on Monday, I went to sit at my desk in the afternoon after taking a nap and she came right up to me and put her paws on my leg as if to say, “Mom, you need to rest!!”) Lila has steered clear of me, haha, so I guess nursing is not her career path. 😉
If we were having coffee today, what would you talk about?
