The End Of One Thing, The Start Of Another

I have realised that my titles this month, as well as being good titles for Christmas stories (as planned) could actually work as Chapter headings in one big story. So I might set myself the challenge of writing that story, using those chapter headings, before Christmas 2023. But I've said about doing that sort of thing before, and not done it. It's a lovely idea, but I doubt I'll follow through on it.
Anyway - with this posting, I successfully achieve my challenge of writing a different number of blogs in each calendar month of 2022. So, that's something I can be proud of.
But what else can I be proud of, then, you ask? Well, I successfully navigated my way through a first full calendar year in my job, and I helped my young son successfully navigate his way through another year of life, and I helped my wife successfully navigate her way through another pregnancy and childbirth, so how about that?
I think that's more than enough for one year.

RC 31-12-22

Bravely Back to Base Camp

Well, hello.
It feels like months since I wrote anything in this blog, yet I suspect it was probably only five days or so ago. I hope you are having a wonderful Christmastime, and I shall try very hard not to repeat things that I have said at this time of year in times past.

Our Yuletide plans did not go off without a hitch. Sister Sophie cleverly tested positive for Covid on the 23rd, and our newest family member (he being young Rian, newly of this parish) was alarmingly poorly on Christmas Eve and had to be taken to a walk-in clinic to be checked out. That's life, though, right? Nothing was ruined, the world didn't end, it was still a nice Christmas, and it isn't over yet. Sophie is now clear of the lurgy, but has timed it perfectly to coincide with her return to work duties, so we still can't see her. But that's fine. We now have an excuse for another family get-together, and it means we can have another (delayed) Christmas Day in January. We adapt plans, we make the best of it, and we don't consider these setbacks a punishment from God or let them dampen our moods. 

That's how we roll in the Chesworth clan. 

Rian is absolutely fine, by the way. Babies get affected differently by bugs and this was just an unfriendly encounter with one of the many colds that is floating around society this Winter. I don't imagine for one second that we are the only family to have suffered some illness-related disruptions this December.
Now, if you'll excuse me, Mathew has several new Lego kits that he needs some help with (thank you, Santa!).

RC 29-12-22

Growing and Glowing

I was thinking, after what I wrote at the end of Mathew's birthday, that actually the existence of this blog has given me a wonderful opportunity to record lots of information about his early years, which he could then read online at a later date. And then I felt guilty that I hadn't been doing that since Day One - leaving him a digital daily update of his life and how it changed. And then I thought 'Well, I can start from now!' but then I realised that was putting huge pressure on myself, and I should just stick to using this blog the way I have been for the past 15 years (or however long it is; I lose track). 

It is an amazing thing to reflect on though - just how much Mathew has changed in his 4 years so far, and the fact that Rian is embarking on a similar journey. It's quite sweet to speculate on what they'll both be like in another 4 years. All I know is, it'll happen before I know it. One undeniable truth about being a parent is that it speeds time up immensely. How is it FOUR YEARS since I wrote and told you I had become a dad? It makes me even more determined to enjoy every single second of their childhoods, and to embrace every change as it comes along.

 

And I'd like to leave a couple of December blog spaces free to report back after The Big Day, so I'm going to leave things there or risk running over my allotted 12 entries for the month (to ensure I complete my 2022 Blog Challenge, which I often doubted I would achieve!). So, this will be the last time you hear from me before the 25th. So - from everyone in my house to everyone in your house - A Very Merry Christmas with Lots of Love (and there are now FOUR of us, so that's a lot of extra love this year!)

RC 22-12-22

A Magical Morning

Today was wonderful. It was the first time that Mathew seemed to understand what was going on with his birthday, and he loved being the centre of attention and he loved diving into his presents. We did think about putting them under the Christmas tree, but then we didn't want to confuse the two occasions, or to put any thoughts into his head about how Father Christmas seems to arrange gifts in exactly the same way mum and dad do... Maybe overthinking that, but overthinking is what we do as parents sometimes, and what I do frequently as an individual. The thing is - moving forwards - we really want his birthday to always be a special, separate event from the Yuletide festivities. I know several people with birthdays at this time of year, and it's so easy for their birthdays to get lost in the general frivolousness of December, forgetting that for the central person involved, it's a different sort of celebration (or should be, at least).
Both my sisters were able to come over as well, which was amazing. We're seeing them next weekend for our Chesworth Christmas Cornucopia of Collective Christmasness, but it's lovely of them to make the effort to see The Special Guy on His Special Day. They lathered him with love and played with him until he was pooped. He went to bed exhausted - after a story from Auntie Sophie - and the rest of us drank tea and chatted until barely half an hour ago. Fantastic.
Mathew may not remember this day in detail, but I sure will. A thoroughly brilliant birthday.

RC 20-12-22

Whitescape

We drove over to Ted and Beryl today, and it was like driving through a Christmas card. We had thought about calling it off and staying at home in the warm, but we do need to start getting Rian used to the car (and getting us used to loading everything we need to transport a baby and a 4-year-old), so we ignored the threat of icy roads and ventured out. I'm so glad we did. The roads were clear and safe, and the scenery was absolutely beautiful.
Beryl had baked enough treats to keep 17 schools in snacks for at least a week. She's no longer up to doing the big feasts with twelve courses that keep her in the kitchen for days on end, but she can still churn out a meal fit for a king. (Or three kings, to be more seasonal).
Despite the presence of The Little One, Mathew was undoubtedly the focus of attention all afternoon, with his birthday being just two days away. Ted and Beryl are sort-of Grandparents-by-default and they spoiled Mathew as if he was one of their own large brood.
I watched the first half of the World Cup Final with Ted and then we headed home to have a settled evening here before the frost set in again. Ted was funny because he couldn't decide who he wanted to win, because he can't decide who he hates more between France and Argentina. Personally, I had to root for the South Americans because - if you remember - I tipped them to win from the very beginning! Maybe I should get into the world of sports betting, because even though I based my predictions purely on which shirts I liked, I seem to have done as well as many professional tipsters, and better than most!
I have to be honest, though, and say that I'm sitting here, several hours after the match was due to finish, and I still can't tell you who won. Such is my interest in the original version of the game of football. The American version, however, I love dearly, so if you will excuse me, Sky Sports NFL is calling....

RC 18-12-22

The Inside Physics of an Igloo

We have our staff Christmas party (of sorts) today. I'm a bit nervous because I organised it all, and being made responsible for the end-of-year enjoyment for a group of disparate employees feels like being on a hiding to nothing. There's bound to be someone disgruntled who uses the event as an opportunity to air their grievances, there's bound to be someone who takes to the free bottle of wine a bit too enthusiastically and ends up needing assistance, and there's bound to be grumblings about 'why couldn't we just have a bonus?' when I'm asking them to pull their crackers. Or maybe I'm just projecting negatively unnecessarily, and the whole thing will go off without a hitch and be enjoyed by all-and-sundry. As I said earlier this week on this very blogsite - 'most of our worries are wasted', so maybe I should just chill out, let it all happen, and trust that I have covered all bases successfully, and that my efforts will be appreciated by my colleagues....

RC 16-12-22

Trembling Fingers

Well, I survived my Frosty Drive Through Icy Hell yesterday, and actually it was quite pleasant. Gavin managed to get everything done by 6pm, so I was able to drive after the busiest time of the evening and before the coldest part of the night. The roads nearer home were starting to glisten and get a bit worrying, but the main part of the journey was a doddle. I got to listen to a few Christmas tunes, and a podcast about the NFL, and it was all very enjoyable and uneventful. Just goes to show - most of our worries are wasted.

Gavin was in buoyant mood, and was more focused than I expected. I'm so used to seeing him lost in his own ambitions, trying to filter his thoughts through a disorganised mind that is whirring with nineteen different ideas, that a short meeting with him can be exhausting. But he knew exactly what he wanted to discuss; he had a planned agenda and didn't deviate from it at all. It felt very professional and surprisingly productive.

He's still very excited about his project in Devon, but is aware that he has taken on something that might not be salvageable, and is aware that his enthusiasm may have ridden roughshod over his business acumen when he made the decision to invest in it. There were lots of other things discussed, which I shall not go into, but the basic conclusion I came away with is that I may end up having more items placed on my managerial To Do list in the New Year. I'm not particularly happy about that, but I said I'd give it some consideration and take on what I could, while his Shiny New Toy is distracting him from his Suffolk sites.

RC 14-12-22

Colder Air

My absentee boss Gavin, erstwhile of this parish, has, in his infinite wisdom, asked me to meet him in Peterborough this afternoon for a meeting. He is still spending lots of his time down in the South-West, working on his shiny new project with the site down there, but he's also trying to keep an eye on the Suffolk Coast aspect of his empire, and for some reason it's fallen on me to provide an update, and for some reason he wants it face-to-face. One would have thought that we might take advantage of the many video-calling facilities that became so prevalent during the pandemic, but apparently not.
I suppose, reluctantly, I can admit to admiring his determination to stick to the old-fashioned ways, but I can also admit my frustration at being asked to drive nearly two hours on a day when the temperature is barely expecting to get above freezing, in a week when the icy surfaces have barely started to show a hint of melting.
In years gone by it wouldn't have bothered me, but I do find myself apprehensively checking the weather updates and dreading the drive back after dark. Maybe it's an age thing, or maybe being a responsible parent has led me to give more consideration to my own safety, lest my young 'uns be left with just their mum to provide for them. Or maybe it's the constant doom-laden, scaremongering bullshit that passes for British TV journalism these days brainwashing me into believe everything is a catastrophic crisis, so the merest hint of frost has me reacting like I'm about to drive into a ravine.
Either way, I thought I'd post this now in case I'm dead by the end of the day.

RC 13-12-22

The Journey North

 We're seeing Ted and Beryl next weekend for a pre-Christmas feast-up. They invited us over for Boxing Day, but we'll be locked into a Chesworth Siblings Christmas Get-Together Special, so they insisted we venture their way before, rather than after, The Big Day. It'll be amazing, I'm sure. Beryl is aging noticeably but still seems to become sprightly when she's in a kitchen. She shows her love for people by feeding them, and any arthritic aches, rheumatic pains or general giddiness gets shoved aside by her psychological need to be cooking. I'm sure there's some kind of beneficial alternative therapy that could be established based on this phenomenon. Teaching people to ignore their ailments by giving them complicated recipes and a large group of people to feed. 'Bake Yourself Better' we could call it...

Every car journey continues to be an icy adventure. We're in proper Winter mode now, and I'm pleased to say it's not bothering me. The house is well heated, and we're not dragging The Little One out into the cold air, so there's no concern about him getting a chill. Mathew is enjoying the change of colour in the garden, mainly because our lawn is now looking exactly like the picture on his advent calendar, so he's convinced we live at the North Pole. I'm not going to convince him otherwise. I think an important aspect of parenthood is encouraging your children's imagination, and if I correct his flights of fancy when he's under five, what hope is there of him thinking creatively later in life?

RC 12-12-22

A Sprinkling of Snow

I have decided that the rest of my December blog postings will all have titles that make them sound like Christmas stories. (starting today).

I have an idea to help with the cost-of-living crisis. Martin Lewis should take all the money he's made from his extra TV appearances, articles and interviews and divide it up among every family in Britain. I'm sure we'd all benefit hugely. 

And I promise that's the last time I'll mention him.

 

This may have been the coldest weekend I can ever remember. So frosty, so foggy, so icy.  It has been scary and awe-inspiring and beautiful in equal measures and I have to admit I have loved it.

RC 11-12-22

Pre-Xmas Haiku

Well, December already seems determined to race by us with the same unfathomable speed that the previous couple of months have done. More than a week's worth of Advent doors open already? Christmas Eve two weeks from tomorrow? 2023 just a hop, skip and a jump away?
Madness.
Incessant, unceasing, chronological madness.

 

Advent calendars

A sure way to remind you

How quick your life moves

RC 9-12-22

Early Advent Ramblings

A few things I have noted down this week (and then forgotten to blog about!)

I overshot in November, which means I won't be covering all the numbers 12-23 inclusively with my Blog Challenge this year. Ah, well - that's a small consideration alongside the fact that I might actually achieve the original challenge (of a different number each month). 

Plus, it was very satisfying to reach the end of Nov with EXACTLY 200 postings published. 

 

I am pleased to report that The Christmas Cheer has finally entered my system and I am feeling all festive and frivolous! I was starting to worry that it wasn't going to appear this year at all, but now I'm up and running with it and there's still a good two weeks of pre-Christmas Yuleness to enjoy and milk to its driest.

 

Our tree is now up and decorated! Mathew keeps running over and punching the baubles to make them swing, which I can only see ending badly one way or another. There's tinsel a-plenty, and a lovely picture of Mathew at the top, sitting in the middle of a lovely silver star, which was a little craft activity he did at playgroup this week. 

 

I am already fed up with driving home in darkness.

RC 5-12-22