No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on December 14, 2020

I want to talk about the upcoming and current holiday season.

This time of year can be stressful enough but adding all that is going on with COVID, it just adds another layer on the usual layer.

I strongly suggest take a step back and a couple deep breaths before diving back in.

I will not see my parents this year. That is hard on so many levels. However, I know that I am protecting them and my family at the same time. 

It is not a good time to travel or see people outside one’s bubble.

We are creating new traditions and rituals along with the old ones.

This can also be a conflicted time for those who have issues with their relatives or are estranged from their family. 

If you need a Mom, I will be yours. Now stand up straight, don’t slouch and eat your vegetables. And no cell phones or other electronic devices at the dinner table. Know you are loved and appreciated.

This will be hard on all of us for a variety of reasons.

Take some time to check in with yourself. And forgive what you cannot get done this year. 

It is fine to morn what you cannot have this year but if we stay strong, next year will be better.

Feeling sad or angry is not out of line right now. 

I am trying not to dwell on that but on things that give me hope and happiness.

Group social distance hug to you all.

We can get through this and come out the other side stronger and better.

I am grateful for anything that feels normal for this time of year.

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 13, 2020

I really don’t mind that my body is getting me up early. 

Give me some quiet time before really starting my day and allows me to sort my thoughts.

Also, I have seen some splendid sunrises.

I have been thinking and I believe we need to bring shunning back into vogue. 

Shun (verb)- persistently avoid, ignore, or reject (someone or something) through antipathy or caution.

I tend to shun people and things out of caution and for my wellbeing.

There was a time that I tried to be all inclusive because I knew what it was like to be shut out. 

When I was a young fan, the science-fiction and fantasy community bent over backwards to include all fen (fans).  We had been the other until we found fandom and a group that we were a part of.  

Now fandom is mainstream and people no longer hide their love of things that were nerd territory back in the day.

The difficulty with this is that in including all, there were people who were problematic for a variety of reasons including predatory behavior. Until recently there were always excuses as to why these individuals were allowed to remain. They played on everyone’s sympathies and feelings isolation.

There were some that went so far over the line that fandom shunned them. They were not allowed into conventions or go to meetings of the various clubs. 

With the internet, it is easier for like-minded folks to find each other and create their little worlds which has both positives and negatives.

We have this new thing of cancel culture which is destroying lives and careers sometimes based on something that they wrote when they were underaged. It is not a good thing.

I propose that we stop cancelling and start shunning. 

I am grateful for beautiful sunrises.

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 12, 2020

I have work today and tomorrow and next weekend as well. 

Monday, I want to ship out the gifts I have for friends and family.

I have a schedule for what I need to get done when. 

Yesterday I wrapped all the presents which puts me ahead of where I usually am this time of year.

I am feeling rather relaxed about the next couple of weeks. I have Christmas planned out. 

Caroline and I are going to get a small live tree that we will plant in the backyard in the spring. 

I have lights for it, and we have ornaments and garland.

Now to work out how to keep the cats out of it.

We are staying home as much as possible due to the uptick in the numbers.

2021 can’t get here soon enough.

Yesterday I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup. It always makes the house smell lovely, but it is a big clean up since I cannot put my soup pot in the dishwasher because it is way too big. 

Please stay safe and wear your mask OVER your nose. Thank you.

I am grateful for people who are making the hard decisions and staying put this holiday.

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 11, 2020

Or this is how my mind sorts it out.

Listening can be very passive. Someone can be listening to another person but not really hearing them.

To be heard is to have acknowledgement of what was said is being thought on by the other party. 

Back in my stage management days, I was known for my ability to hear what people were trying to tell me. It helped with some difficult directors and actors along the way. In fact there were several that, because they were in the production, I was hired because I worked well with them. 

I discovered early in my career that some of those behaviors that made them a handful had to do with the fact that they didn’t think they were being heard. Because of their reputation, they were being dismissed out of hand because they were ‘a problem’. I, on the other hand, would listen very carefully at what they were saying and ask questions along the way that let them know I was paying attention to what they were saying and was not dismissing their issue.  

People like to know they have been heard and what they said was taken seriously rather than dismissed out of hand. 

I am grateful when I know I have been heard.

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Posted By Kathleen David on December 10, 2020

I have today and tomorrow off before a solid week of work. 

Last Sunday the Plague of Players performed A Christmas Carol. It was an awesome production with everyone bringing their A game.

Peter was the Ghost of Christmas Present. I made him a holly crown with lights in it and a green robe with white fur trim. 

My challenge was creating Ignorance and Want. I decided to create rod puppets. My idea was to make ghostly versions of the characters. The bonus was that with the background they would appear and disappear given them a more ethereal.

(For the VI: These are two rod puppets with Caroline holding them up. On the left is Ignorance with a light blue face and wild grey hair. He is wearing a black tunic and a dirty grey vest. On the right is Want. She has a light blue face and long blond hair. She is wearing a dress that looks very distressed and dirty.)

I am very proud of these and it gives me an idea for more of them.

The bonus is that we can wear holiday hats at work. I plan on wearing the holly crown.

I am working on two projects that will be presents for people this year.

I like that my creative brain is in overdrive again.

I also have a project that came out of something I was going to do for Anime NYC. I can use it for so many other things as well.

Our circulation pump in our heating system gave up the ghost. We had it replaced and the house is feeling warm again all through the house.

It’s nice to not have to bundle up. 

Today Caroline and I are going to have a Mommy/Daughter day after she gets her schoolwork done. I love spending time with her and want to spend as much as I can before she goes off to college.

I am grateful for heat all through the house.

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