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This has been a long year and a lot has changed.
I read somewhere that the difference between the feeling of time being short and time being long is based on how much change we experience and how much learning and growth we have.
Those who do the same thing every day experience time flying by.
Those who try new things and step outside of their day to day grind experience time slowing to a crawl. This year we raised ducks and chickens. Over the course of several months our backyard has transformed, so has my schedule, so has my scope.
I also started teaching my granddaughter. That isn't new but teaching her academics in a structured way is. In the next year the plan is for me to start driving a car again. I have not driven since 2009. That will definitely be new. I think I also want to learn to knit.

I texted my son last night for an update on his puppy.
Appetite is returning, energy is returning, he also pooped for the first time since Christmas eve. He appears to be recovering.

We clipped chicken wings yesterday. So far, so good. The only chickens escaping are the smart ones and lucky for them, I like them.
Me and the grandkid have made a breakthrough with her reading.
I started doing page vocabulary with her before we read. By explaining word mechanics in advance of doing the reading, she is actually reading entire sentences without sounding out as much.
It is the first time she finished reading practice with a smile on her face.
Now if only she could understand syllables.
She keeps confusing them with phonemic awareness and ends up getting pissed off.

I was up at 2:30 this morning. Tried to sleep in the grandkid's room until 5 but struggled until 5 and then napped for a half hour. Woke at 5:30, my daughter was late getting here. I tried to call but her phone was off. That never happens.
I turned on Netflix and watched Dr John until I finally got a call and they came over.
Today plans to be quiet and drizzly.

The wait continues. My sister saw two puppies through parvo so she offered some advice and also some words of comfort, which was really nice.
The hardest part of the pup being ill isn't that he is sick. The hardest part is that my son has to do it alone with only emotional support and and whatever foods we can spare or offer.
I know he is doing everything that he can.

Christmas this year was quiet and kind of somber. My son's puppy has Parvo and yesterday morning the puppy had little appetite and no energy. The news cast a bit of a pall over what should have been a festive day and made things drab.
There was a little anxiety over being in a new place and meeting my daughter's new boyfriend. He was working all day though so we only met him briefly in the evening.
We still went through the motions. The day was warm and when we went home around 2 to check on the critters, the chickens were staying in their yard for a change. That was nice to see.
Life goes on, I found evidence that my barred rocks are laying now. More eggs, lots of eggs. Too many maybe or maybe enough to justify maline more egg rich foods that I shied away from before.

It was a really good conversation. My sister is less lonely than I thought and that is good.
Today we are supposed to spend the day with the kids and we will see what happens. Last year my daughter wanted us there early for breakfast. Today she has already postponed us two hours. It's ok, gives us time for some work before fun.

Update from earlier. My sister actually gave me her phone number so we could have an actual conversation. I am looking forward to catching up.
Situation is still sad as hell. I told my son about it tonight when he came over to get some groceries until pay day. Her experience with her own kids is so different from mine. Her entire family hates each other, her kids don't talk to each other. My kids are best friends and always there for each other and for me, and I am there for them too.
She is wrapped up in everything she is owed. On my side we give freely even when we don't have much and don't ask for anything in return.

It's just so bizarre.

COMMENTS

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TheArtistRose
18:20 Dec 25 2025

Glad you're reconnecting

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Blindpetie
12:30 Dec 26 2025

We were born 15 months apart. She is the one person in my life for 49 years and she has never changed. For 15 years we shared space and for another 15 we raised kids together until her choices put us at odds.
Even then, on my darkest day I called my mm's house and my sister picked up instead and we talked for hours like nothing had happened.
After so many years, I missed her.

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Last night I talked to my sister for the first time in about 6 years.
No one in the family talks to her and it made me kind of sad. Initially she broke contact with me because she got offended by her own perception of something I said to her on facebook. She literally blocked me after I said that I was glad my kids still talk to me.
She had n idea what was going on in my life at the time and that my daughter stopped talking to me for a year because she was afraid I would lecture her about her drug use and poor decision making. My sister got offended because all of her kids rejected her.

After all these years I tried to connect and she is soo unhappy and bitter. She has no understanding or ownership of the damage she herself did to her own children and now she is miserable and lonely and thinks it is someone else's fault.
It is the saddest thing I have ever seen. I am just trying to process all that rage and hatred.

Yesterday's Christmas shopping attempt was a bust.
We had a rough start and then stopped at a local car dealership because husband wanted too look at the cars. He has been stressed about the car we drive now. Stressed about the mileage he puts on it. Stressed that I should be driving too but can't because there is only one drivable car.
Now we have two.
It's worth it for his peace of mind and it's a hybrid, so I am interested in how well it will perform and last.
No money down yesterday so we maker another go of it today.
I was disappointed yesterday because I couldn't get to Hobby Lobby. It is cheaper than Michaels and has more stuff. I wanted to dress up the packages this year, now it is going to be kind of meh.

Today is probably going to be Christmas shopping day.
We do this every year, the last minute, last few hundred bucks thing. It always works out because no one in my family is all that materialistic, we just like to spend the day together and Christmas is a good excuse.

First the PS4 died, now the tv.
My husband is unthrilled. I don't really care.
I told him that replacing them is not a priority. I was the only person using them so my opinion should matter. They go to the back of the list of priorities as far as I am concerned.
We should be able to replace both next spring sometime after he gets new tires for the car.

Last night I saw a video about a trend involving quitting consumerism for Christmas.
I have only been talking about this for 30 years, I am glad others are finally onboard.

The journey continues. Last night we released the ducks from their pen and let them roam the hen pen. They loved it and it kept the roaming hens in check for an extra hour this morning because they are a little nervous about the quackers.
Eventually my roamers flew the coop but were quickly returned and now we have bird netting in place.
Chickens are way calmer than yesterday and the humans are less stressed too.

I guess I have been busy and just a bit stressed.
Our chicken coop was overwhelmed by roosters. We are never buying from Tractor Supply again. We bought four Rustic Rocks last spring and they all ended up being roosters. Nice roosters with people but vicious with the hens. It caused a lot of stress.
We had to put them all in the freezer last weekend.
The coop has quieted, we have three roosters remaining but they are two Silkies and a Bantam. All pretty harmless and nice with the hens.
During the time it took for us to finally handle the situation we had three hens injured, one killed, one traumatized, and three became daily escapees. We added an extension to the chicken yard for the hens that needed a break. The ducks lost their house to chickens who decided it made a dandy nesting box.
After eliminating the troublesome roosters we finally decide to fence part of the back yard so the hens can free-range if they want and an additional henhouse will be built to house the dedicated free-rangers and Blue, the more docile of the Silkie roosters.
Finally an easing of my stress.