Happy Christmas (again!) and getting through the post-Christmas dip

No - I haven't gone mad!  In some parts of the world (including a remote valley in Wales, reputedly) where they are still operating on the Julian calendar today is Christmas Day!  So festive greetings to anyone out there celebrating (again).


Our house is no longer looking festive. The naked tree is in the front garden waiting to be recycled.  The decorations are back in their boxes waiting to be put away under the eaves in the loft (can't face that yet!). The cards have already been collected by the recycling van, apart from the special hand made ones which we always keep because of the love, thought and effort that has gone into them. The downside of this change is that the house is looking rather stark compared to a few days ago. The upside is that it is less cluttered and therefore an incentive to get more organized ready for the year ahead and (quite literally) to get rid of the cobwebs that are all the more obvious now there are no decorations to distract the eye!


Looking back on the blog, it was around this time last year that Steve finally put away both his anti-nausea tablets and the sick bucket which had been living beside the bed during the months when he was undergoing chemo. The snow was deep, the roads were treacherous and as a result we missed Sue's party and our first chance to meet her three french hens.  All being well, we will be introduced at last this weekend!  


Steve has been feeling tired this last week and experiencing anxiety dreams and night sweats. I suspect the time of the year - the excitement of Christmas is over but the spring still a long way off - has something to do with his mood, likewise the long hours of darkness and gloomy days. Plus, I've had my head down since last weekend in an effort to meet a work deadline and, as a result, he has been left more than usual to his own devices.  


However, all the effort paid off today!  With the deadline met, we can relax together tonight and the next few weeks won't be quite so pressured.  I hope that will help get him back into a more positive frame of mind before the next big deadline is upon me.  It's at times like this, I know I've made the right decision to volunteer for "early exit" from work. We are both SO looking forward to spring!  I just hope that Leo (Steve's name for his mesothelioma) slumbers on and doesn't spoil the enjoyment on the horizon! 


Back in the here and now, we must catch up with some thank you notes/e-mails and bite the bullet of filling in our tax returns by the end of the month. To help us along there are lots of Christmas present books to read and games to play; still some Christmas goodies to devour, and a new camera lens to experiment with!  Steve has already started thinking about plans for later in the year, which I take as a good sign....


Last but not least, my thanks to those of you who lit candles in honour of Steve and all the other mesothelioma warriors - it was truly heart-warming!