To answer your question, no I don't find the time between Christmas and New Years to be challenging.  Being a college football and basketball junkie, I find it quite intriguing.  It is the best part of the college football bowl season and the basketball teams start league play and you get high ranked teams playing each other, so I've got plenty to keep me distracted. 

And as to your other question, I always end up in the red when calculating what I spent to what I received, and it's been that way since I started working.  I'm always spending a lot of money on the family and friends' children, but I'm fine with that.  I get more enjoyment out of watching how everyone else responds to my gifts, and I don't require much, although I have received some very nice gifts.  

And I almost forgot to answer your last question.  I don't usually buy myself a present, but this year I did.  I purchased a new iPhone, since my old phone was beyond salvaging.  

Nope, I didn't buy myself anything this year. Got a holiday at Easter, so need to save money 💰 for that.

I don't find the time between Christmas and New Year challenging as there's plenty of stuff to watch on television, whilst eating all the chocolates that we were given.

Christmas is just another day around here. When I moved in with my son, we used to go to his former foster family for Christmas dinner, which I felt totally out of place for. Well, it was his mother that was the major problem, but my non-interference in their battles can't be denied. Then there was our different forms of mental illness. Three crazies in one apartment does not make a happy family.

Okay, enough of that. Christmas changed last year when cancer came into my life. I was totally not in the mood for Christmas, so we didn't go to the other family's Christmas party then and didn't go this year. My son is rather put out with those other people because he's gone to each of their home for various parties and such, but they rarely came here. They complain because we live so far away from them. Thirty-five miles is too far? That's the farthest. One lives sixteen miles away and that's too far for him.

Oh, and this year I didn't get myself a present. Last year it was cancer surgery recovery. This year on the day after New Years I'll be going into the operating room to have six or nine teeth pulled. I can't remember the exact number. Two or three upper right, at least two lower right, two upper left, and two lower left. That's eight or nine. Hopefully, it'll only be six.

What else do I have to look for in the coming year? Every three months starting in February I'll be having a procedure to see if the bladder cancer has returned.

And, of course, there is a story for the Anthology. Missed last year because, well, we won't go into that. The less we talk about that, the less I have to worry. I hate to think that I'm losing the ability to put words together into something that makes sense and then have to be dropped from Signature Author rank and moved into the Classical Author bin.

Carl, I can identify with much of what you've written.  I can see how the Christmas celebrations you described would make you feel uncomfortable.  When I first moved to Georgia, I had no relatives nearby and my children lived too far away for me to visit (I'd merely chat with them on the phone or have a video conference), so a friend invited me to celebrate Christmas with him and his family.  Like you, I felt totally out of place and the entire experience was awkward, so I never repeated it again. 

I'm sorry to hear about your dental and cancer problems.  I hope the dental surgery goes well, with as few extractions as possible, and I hope your cancer remains in remission.  I also wish to welcome you into the ranks of the Classic Authors.  I ask to be changed from the rank of Signature Author to Classic Author a couple of years ago when I was also dealing with the uncertainty of health related issues.  Wishing you all the best.      

As always, thanks for the update.  I got five of the words this week.  Ba Humbug.  

I've always thought of the time between the Christmas and New Years holidays as a precursor to the infamous 'shoulder season' that will be upon us in a couple of months..."Mud Season" which brings all sorts of wonders and delights for an outdoors person such as myself...As with friends, relatives, and guests, some days are bright and sunny and other days are cloudy and grumpy...

The gifts I treasured most this year as in the previous years are the ones that were homemade, from jams/jellies, breads, cakes/cookies, and most important were the gifts of time....I confess that my shopping for the holiday is nearly complete by July 4th. I learned that in buying and wrapping presents so early, the most important thing to do is to ensure the label is affixed securely before tucking them away in the closet, there will be no repeats of scratching my head several months later, wondering what, why and who in the heck did I buy this for???

Uncle and Aunt Amazon takes care of what I might have forgotten. I learned quite some time ago that my sense of style and fashion precludes the passing of the dinosaurs' and is nearly extinct...a sad commentary for a gay man...to be bereft of the fashion/style genes...But I digress, and all is saved, and my dignity remains intact when I hand/email out those ever so easy to purchase gift cards...even better the number of stamps I save....

I wish all of you much success, health, and everlasting friendships in the coming New Year!!! 

51 minutes ago, drsawzall said:

I've always thought of the time between the Christmas and New Years holidays as a precursor to the infamous 'shoulder season' that will be upon us in a couple of months..."Mud Season" which brings all sorts of wonders and delights for an outdoors person such as myself...As with friends, relatives, and guests, some days are bright and sunny and other days are cloudy and grumpy...

The gifts I treasured most this year as in the previous years are the ones that were homemade, from jams/jellies, breads, cakes/cookies, and most important were the gifts of time....I confess that my shopping for the holiday is nearly complete by July 4th. I learned that in buying and wrapping presents so early, the most important thing to do is to ensure the label is affixed securely before tucking them away in the closet, there will be no repeats of scratching my head several months later, wondering what, why and who in the heck did I buy this for???

Uncle and Aunt Amazon takes care of what I might have forgotten. I learned quite some time ago that my sense of style and fashion precludes the passing of the dinosaurs' and is nearly extinct...a sad commentary for a gay man...to be bereft of the fashion/style genes...But I digress, and all is saved, and my dignity remains intact when I hand/email out those ever so easy to purchase gift cards...even better the number of stamps I save....

I wish all of you much success, health, and everlasting friendships in the coming New Year!!! 

Thank you! And I hope the same for you dr s.  🤗 

3 hours ago, centexhairysub said:

As always, thanks for the update.  I got five of the words this week.  Ba Humbug.  

me too but I thought I had all seven

Yes, I bought myself stuff for Christmas. Wine, lotion, candles, and bubble bath solutions for obvious reasons. Krista needs to hide away in her soaker tub for a few hours. None of them are cute enough to get away with disturbing me anymore, either. They know better, husband included.

The only time I have ever came out of the 'red' for Christmas is when Aaron and I were still dating, the man still thought he had stuff to prove to me before I married him.

A lot of my feelings around this time of year depend on the weather to be honest. Although, leading up to Christmas I feel rushed and bogged down in a lot of the 'extra' to get the whole ordeal prepared and executed. There's a lot on my to-do list that I need a little bit of a respite between Christmas and the New Year to regain some semblance of my peace of mind, patience, and recovery from stress. I've also been sick this season, as seems to be more common every year, so I've had to overcome that. It took a lot of my enthusiasm for Christmas out of me, to be honest... so this little break has always been a welcome one. 

I also have my dreadful birthday looming, so the slower these days pass the better.  

I hate winter if it isn't snowing. If all it is going to do is be cold, windy, and/or rainy, a big muddy mess - then I begin to detest the whole season. We haven't seen snow that lasted over a couple of hours, and nothing that really covered the ground. I am a Spring and Summer person, I don't think that will ever change with me.

Oh, and you forgot my pressie too, btw. Tsk.. tsk... tsk.