As the holidays approach

I often find myself bursting with things to write about, but cannot. A great deal of this involves issues on the job, both good and bad. Given the nature of the job, I just cannot write about these experiences and issues and that is frustrating. I try to allow for this but find that the job often consumes time far in excess of actual work hours. As a result, I often find myself mentally beat down and unable to focus clearly on other things when I have the opportunity to write without interruption.

In the more general area, life is good. I am looking forward to the tempo slowing down tremendously as the week progresses and people begin their vacations around Xmas. By Friday I think that basically everyone will be in shutdown mode and I hope to join them even though I will not be taking much time off. I thought about taking a day or two, and still might. That will depend on how things are going through the next week. I don't celebrate Xmas in the traditional sense, but I do enjoy spending time with Hal and close friends since the family situation is just beyond the pale and not worth going into. Hal and I will either be hosting friends from Glen Burnie, MD or traveling to spend Xmas day with them. It is always more about the time shared than about gifts. I feel that time spent with others is enough of a gift by itself. People who expect/demand gifts at this time of the year are seldom involved with us for that reason.

I will get Hal a little present, I have no problem with that. I always face the dilemma of what to get him, but somehow it always works out. I think he feels the same way about me, but that is why we are approaching our 14th anniversary :) That will happen next month and is usually more of a cause for us to celebrate. It is hard to believe that we are approaching 14 years together, the time has flown by. I suppose that is why our relationship works so well, because we never tire of each other's company. I am thankful for the people in my life, and Hal is definitely on top of that list.

If things go well, Hal and I will have friends over sometime between Xmas and New Year for a nice night with dinner, drinks and some movies. Hoping that we can make that happen.