Surviving the holidays...
When I got to work this morning, my car was the only one in the lot. I'm not sure if that means I'm the only morning person here or the only one that has managed to procrastinate so badly that I have to be here all weekend.
Gah.
Because Thanksgiving is over, I hung my poinsettia garland over my office door. I'm the only one who does stuff like this (at Halloween, it was little ghosts), so I'm guessing most of the other profs/grad students think I'm a little batty. I hope that even though we're all getting stressed with the end of the semester, it's a reminder to show goodwill toward other men (and women). :-)
Thanksgiving was nice. We slept in and enjoyed a late lunch (or dinner, as my folks call it) at the Holiday Inn. It was okay. I was very glad not to have to cook and host people at my house this year, but the quality of cooking did not warrant a $17/person bill. I'm guessing that most of that money was not to cover the expenses of the food but was actually hazard pay for those poor men and women who were forced to dress up as pilgrims. I know I would need some serious extra cash to do that.
We then went and spent some time with Mike's family. They were cleaning up from dinner, so we spent most of the time chatting with MIL while I kept the kids from wrestling in the living room (which is full of lovely little glass trinkets).
Yesterday was my cousin's funeral, and something decidedly different happened: I cried nearly the whole time. I didn't feel too bad about it, though, because I saw people who I could never imagine crying were having as much difficulty as I was keeping it together. It was a very touching service because so many people had kind things to say. I also enjoyed seeing a couple friends who came from out of town.
It did bother me initially, however, that I cried more at this funeral than my grandmother's. I suspect it's because I knew my grandmother and never liked her all that much...as the feeling was obviously mutual. When she died, it was almost a relief because of all the pain and problems she had. She was miserable and just waiting for it to happen. With my cousin, I felt as if there was a person there who I hardly knew, and I definitely felt a loss because I now would never have that opportunity to learn in person. I will have to rely on those who knew him better.
Gah.
Because Thanksgiving is over, I hung my poinsettia garland over my office door. I'm the only one who does stuff like this (at Halloween, it was little ghosts), so I'm guessing most of the other profs/grad students think I'm a little batty. I hope that even though we're all getting stressed with the end of the semester, it's a reminder to show goodwill toward other men (and women). :-)
Thanksgiving was nice. We slept in and enjoyed a late lunch (or dinner, as my folks call it) at the Holiday Inn. It was okay. I was very glad not to have to cook and host people at my house this year, but the quality of cooking did not warrant a $17/person bill. I'm guessing that most of that money was not to cover the expenses of the food but was actually hazard pay for those poor men and women who were forced to dress up as pilgrims. I know I would need some serious extra cash to do that.
We then went and spent some time with Mike's family. They were cleaning up from dinner, so we spent most of the time chatting with MIL while I kept the kids from wrestling in the living room (which is full of lovely little glass trinkets).
Yesterday was my cousin's funeral, and something decidedly different happened: I cried nearly the whole time. I didn't feel too bad about it, though, because I saw people who I could never imagine crying were having as much difficulty as I was keeping it together. It was a very touching service because so many people had kind things to say. I also enjoyed seeing a couple friends who came from out of town.
It did bother me initially, however, that I cried more at this funeral than my grandmother's. I suspect it's because I knew my grandmother and never liked her all that much...as the feeling was obviously mutual. When she died, it was almost a relief because of all the pain and problems she had. She was miserable and just waiting for it to happen. With my cousin, I felt as if there was a person there who I hardly knew, and I definitely felt a loss because I now would never have that opportunity to learn in person. I will have to rely on those who knew him better.