Christmastime with a Broken Wrist

Sigh.  "Next year will be different," I keep telling myself.  Yes, I am trying my best to be in the moment, and I am enjoying Christmastime overall, as I usually do.  But I have to tell you, this year has presented challenges, due to my limitations from a broken wrist. 

Some background first:  The Tim is famous for getting a tree for us during the first week of December, and then almost immediately putting the lights on it.  And then, nothing.  He wants us to decorate it together, but he is usually either sleeping, cooking/baking things he wants to make for the holidays, or at work.  So almost every year, the tree has lights only for a week or two, and then all of a sudden he decides it has to decorated THAT SECOND, regardless of what else I may have going on, or be in the middle of trying to get done.  The down side of this is obvious if you have read this paragraph.  The good side is that in the meantime, I've put out all of the other decorations and have cleaned up after myself, so other than vacuuming pine needles once the tree is finished, there's not much left to do.

This year, though, has not worked that way.  I have been going to occupational therapy 2 times a week, and I have about an hour's worth of exercises to do on my own every day a minimum of twice a day.  The days I go to therapy are especially hard, as those sessions are exhausting both physically and mentally.  But I have been doing my best to get out the other decorations and place them where I like them to be, which is fun.  Sadly though, I am not able to pick up the empty boxes and put them back in the basement, since I do not have the control in my hands and wrist yet.  Which means that there are boxes all over the place, because The Tim is a believer in wait-until-everything-is-ready-to-put-away and there are still one or two small boxes of ornaments to unpack (which we are doing tonight and will finish the tree one way or the other), so I can't really clean up.  He is not bothered by this, but it is making me CRAZY.  So I told him that tonight we are finishing up with the ornaments (because as far as I'm concerned, it should already be done), and the boxes need to be downstairs by the time I come home from work tomorrow (he has the day off). 

So what will I be doing this week before Christmas, when I am usually just able to enjoy things and do the activities I want to do (baking, knitting, etc.)?  I will be cleaning the house.  Which usually means a commitment of a couple of hours.  But when you have limited mobility, it takes a very very long time and every single thing is a Big Project. 

Now, I realize that in the grand scheme of things, this is truly no big deal.  But for me, it's really annoying.  I just keep telling myself that a) it will all get done, and b) next year, I will be able to do things the way I like to do them, and that makes me more of a happy camper. 

On a very positive note, I did successfully get the gifts wrapped that we send to family and friends so that they are well on their way.  I love wrapping things, but as with every single thing at this time, it was, shall we say "challenging."  Especially when you are not only surrounded by snoopervising kitties, but a large dog simply *has* to have his head resting on your knee while you are in the midst of it ...

I've also made toffee and one kind of cookie so far (The Tim has made several), and hope this weekend to make a batch of cranberry curd.  I'm sure we'll also tackle decorated spritz cookies, since we generally make those right before Christmas Day.

Maybe The Tim is lucky I can't lift much of anything ... you never know what could happen ... ;-)