First:
I woke up to Sparky and his four cold feet. He danced in the hall and asked, “walk me?” We walked three times down the same ol street.
I went to the gym where I did not swim, but I jumped and I stretched my muscles thin. Persimmons I don’t like but cinnamon I will bite.
No trees in a cup (juniper latte) for me, I’m saving myself for the civic symphony.
The nutcracker calls and the swan sings, these are the things that fill my dreams.
Second:
Shopping around and through the stores for Christmas countdown gifts — eggnog to drink, lotion for my toes, and some candles to cast shadows on my hose.
There’ll be bread, books, and breakfast in bed. I’ll eat the chocolates that near my head.
I can’t give all my secrets away so I’ll wrap them up and hide them today. When Caleb gets home the games we will play.
The paper is crooked and the tape uneven but that doesn’t stop this joyous feeling.
Third:
I decided to only get one degree from City College. For those of you thinking that getting a degree will make transferring easier, it has not for me. I came from Florida, with honors, and California told me to just take three classes, and then three more, and when I thought I was done it was another three more.
There’s a six-month registration process to get into a university, so I got a certificate in the interim. I thought about pursuing that degree, but already eight classes have turned into 11. I should have my second business degree by the end of March.
I mailed the $100 that the school took six weeks to raise for the American Heart Association. I checked the “not participating” box for next year and will move away from working for free and find something that pads my pocket, just a bit, as it does my heart.
Caleb’s Uncle Ed and I walked around downtown Coronado and took in the view along the water’s edge of San Diego Bay.
Fourth:
I walked around lots of corners but not to any stores. I walked to the backyard and to the front porch, both places too windy to study my ACE book, so I walked Sparky again.
I walked to pick up the neighbor’s kid from school and then to the hotel elevator to eat olives, mushrooms, and a fortune cookie with Uncle Ed. We learned about the history of the Vikings and what it’s like living within 200 miles of the arctic circle in Alaska.
Fifth:
The rain came pouring down. Ed and I watched some behind-the-scenes footage of Blue Man Group with the Dodo Japanese guys. We went to the house to play three games of cribbage and had dinner at Big Kahuna’s.
Sixth:
Sparky had his third seizure while I was on the phone with Caleb. I went to work three hours later in my cute sweatpants and did the exercises with the kids and let them play in the rain a bit before going inside for an anatomy vocabulary game of Hangman.
I watch some I Love Lucy next door and compare the size 12 of a woman in the 50s to today’s standards before going home to make dinner. I’m doing some writing, about TV, when Fallon asks if I want to go for ice cream later.
We make it ten minutes before the shop closes because of the storm; get strawberry and orange while we wait by the door. A fresh batch of donuts has been made on the corner so we might as well grab one of those too.
Treats on the couch while we look at science — menopause, cancer, steroids, and nature.
Seventh:
Breakfast at The Broken Yolk Cafe with Uncle Ed. Then gasoline and groceries before a game of cribbage. He’s off to work and I pick up my paycheck.
Fallon invited me to Tender Greens to eat the Brussels sprouts that come with her seasonal veggies. We decided to clean out our cars. I sucked up all the food crumbs (with a vacuum) and wiped down all the weird smudges and spots.
We took her youngest down to the farmer’s market for kitchen-sink and garlic-honey dips and shared a cookie-base birthday cake cheesecake dessert.
I got a letter in the mail today letting me know that our rent won’t go up next year but the company is introducing fees for anything they can think of — website use, change of pet, and lease renewal. Does that mean I have to pay more if I have one less dog now?
Eighth:
I picked Caleb up from the airport and took him to lunch at Burger Lounge with his uncle before we walked along Coronado Beach and enjoyed the lovely shorts-wearing weather before returning to Ed’s room for conversation, and a phone call from Dad for me.
We went home so I could change into pants and shoes for Balboa Park’s December Nights. We made it past the food stalls and museums, past the Organ Pavilion and the international houses, to another lane of food with short lines for lentils, spinach, garlic naan, and samosas to eat while sitting on a curb.
There’s still a line of cars waiting to find parking while we walked back to the car.
Ninth:
Brunch is had at Lazy Dog with Caleb and Ed who we ventured into Trader Joe’s and Costco with for meat and spices. I dropped Ed back to his room while Caleb baked cookies wearing an apron.
Went next door to move the dining table and lay a tarp down and heat my leftovers before Fallon showed up with all of Ryan’s soaking wet items from his car that flooded and laid his important papers out individually.
I always look for Sparky when I walk in the door because he no longer gets up to greet me. I circled around the house and began to panic and Caleb found him in the bathroom, which is why I leave the door shut because otherwise, he’ll lock himself in.
Tenth:
I took a nap on the couch and walked Sparky while Caleb went next door to heat up butter for 30 minutes. We stopped by Vons for salad ingredients and picked up Ed before I ate breakfast at noon. The guys have steak and shrimp; I have salad and kombucha.
Eleventh:
Caleb went to work, came home, and we went shopping for my 12 Days of Christmas at Ocean Enterprises — my own BCD (buoyancy control device) and a regulator (reduces pressurized breathing gas). We got home to another gift in the mailbox — a pair of fingerless gloves, complete with USB hand warmers.
Ed got off work around 6 pm and got called back into work at 8 pm for another hour. I thought we’d stay till midnight but it was five minutes to 1 am before we said our goodnights and goodbyes. He leaves in the morning.
Twelfth:
Went paddle boarding with Caleb, Fallon, and Zeus.
I was going to ride my bike to my dentist appointment but both tires were flat.
Caleb bought bread and foil while I was gone and then we watched Mowgli (thinking it was Jungle Book from 2016). This movie was released in 2018 with more twists than the 1967 original.
TheJessicaness 