Monday, November 30, 2015

November -- yay or nay?

So -- it's over! As you all know, November is NOT my favourite month (although it still beats February...!).

So now the big question:  Did November suck (as much as it sometimes has in the past)? Did I hate November or not this year?

Why November still sucks (a bit): 

I have to admit, there were a few parts of November that I could have done without.
  • Near the end of the month, the weather turned colder and gloomier and more November-like.
  • What happened in Paris on Friday, November 13th, was sad & scary. :(  
  • We had to hand over a big chunk of change to get a new car, after our old one (12+ years and counting) was diagnosed with more repairs than we felt were worth spending money on. This, on top of a new fridge in early October, the Painting Project, and plane tickets to see my family Christmas, left quite a dent in our wallet (and this was BEFORE I started Christmas shopping...!). Ouch! 
  • Dh & I spent the better part of two days going back & forth to the local hospital's emergency room. Long story short, he had a piece of chicken stuck in his throat, which had to be removed via gastroscopy/endoscopy.  It was kind of scary -- he could breathe, but he could not swallow anything, including water (!) -- but aside from a sore throat for the next few days, he quickly bounced back to normal, thank goodness.
  • And, of course, November will always be a reminder of my unfulfilled due date, and the little girl who never grew up. :( 
Why November doesn't suck (as much): 
  • I'm not at work!! :)  :)  :) 
You know, I've heard a lot of people complaining about the painful memories that come back to haunt them via Facebook's "On This Day" feature. (Bent Not Broken recently had a thoughtful post on this subject.) So far, I haven't had any real gut-punches -- perhaps because Facebook wasn't even invented until long after I had been through stillbirth, infertility & finally settled on continuing to live without children.

Nevertheless, there have been a couple of surprises -- things I'd forgotten about, funny stories I'd shared that were still funny a few years later. One thing that's plainly evident is how miserable I've often been at this time of year -- particularly in November and particularly late November/early December -- crunch time for year-end work deadlines. Often I'd have similar complaints pop up from various years on the same day!

A few examples (slightly edited):

From November 19th, 2012:
"It's the most wonderful time of the yeeeeeeeeaaaaaarrrrr....." (Sung sarcastically, with looming deadlines for year end in mind... :p )
From November 22, 2010:
...will be very, very, very, very happy when year end stuff is finally finished. :p
From November 23, 2011 (exactly one year later!):
...thinks it totally sucks that the fun of the Christmas season coincides exactly with the busiest & most stressful time of year at work (year end reporting). :p (You would think I would have figured this out & gotten used to it after 25 years on the job, but every year about this time, I feel the need to vent & sulk, lol. The fact that all my American relatives are enjoying turkey tomorrow while I still have to wait another month for Mom's might also have something to do with it...)
Other reasons why November didn't suck (as much):
  • The weather for the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the month was, for the most part, gorgeous. (In fact, I just saw a weather story on TV that showed something like 21 days of above-normal temperatures in November!)  There were a couple of days, early in the month, when I was outside in my shirt sleeves. That DOES NOT HAPPEN in Canada, people (certainly not where I grew up). It was Nov. 24th before I woke up to snow on the ground, and even then, it was just enough to coat the grass, and vanished quickly. (Yes, I know -- global warming, etc. etc.  But still...!)    
  • The Painting Project, which started in mid-October, spilled over into the first part of November. By the time stepBIL packed up his paint rollers and I managed to get my house back into some semblance of order and cleanliness, it was almost Remembrance Day. So the month really flew by.
  • Despite the fact that getting a new car ate up a big chunk of our savings (albeit savings that were budgeted specifically for a new car sometime in the near future), it was, of course, exciting :) and we are enjoying it.  
  • I got a head start on getting into the Christmas spirit, first by getting in touch with my Swedish roots at a Swedish Christmas festival, complete with a St. Lucia pageant (where St. Lucia stuck with tradition and wore a crown of real candles in her hair!) -- then by getting a head start on my Christmas shopping on Black Friday with my sister-in-law. :)  Black Friday is a relatively new phenomenon here in Canada -- promoted by retailers who are desperate to keep us and our dollars from crossing the border in search of bargains -- and the mall was pretty crowded, but SIL is a great shopping companion.  We had fun and yes, we found some bargains. :)
On balance, then: another November that didn't totally suck. :)  How about that?? :) 

3 comments:

  1. It is lovely to read about your November. Congratulations on the new car, this is always exciting.
    (my least favourite months are also February and then November).

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  2. I'm so happy to hear your November didn't totally suck! And that your hubby got through his chicken bone incident relatively unscathed- heaven knows, I've seen some pretty awful outcomes with chicken bones. Big sigh of relief!

    I've had some painful memories surface with FB's 'On this Day' feature. But some good ones too. I'm certainly trying to put a positive spin on all of it- my life is in a much better place right now than it has been in a very long time. For this, I am so grateful.

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    Replies
    1. Catwoman, it wasn't a bone, just a big chunk of chicken meat. :p But that was scary enough...! Glad to hear you are in a good place right now too. :)

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