Sunday, December 19, 2021
Cloudy, high of 46

4:33 exactly: I wake up to Mattie trying to leave my room. I tell her to get back in bed and she does.

7:25 I awake to an incessant, loud banging and Mattie barking hysterically. I get up to see what on earth is going on and find my neighbor hammering something onto the fence that divides our houses.

A few minutes later, I check my phone and find WATTPAD IS DOWN.

I realize no one has gotten the Christmas books out this year, so I go into the attic and get the box out.

I get dressed, take Mattie and Murphy out and feed them, and eat leftover pancakes.

8:50 We leave for church. It is soggy and freezing outside.

9:00 We arrive at church. There's a sweet fat cat in the parking lot, so docile he exposes his belly for scratches.

The alter girls light the fourth candle and we say an Advent liturgy. We sing O Come O Come Emmanuel, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and Oh Little Town of Bethlehem. The sermon is on the Magnificat and I have a hard time getting past the fact that Mary may have been 12-14 years old.

10:00 It's time for Sunday School. I've had the 4-6 year olds for three and a half years, minus the fifteen months taken out because of Covid. There are five kids today and they're restless. They make ornaments and then most of them want to draw and color. One boy draws a forest fire with trees stripped of their leaves, and the other trees in the background are still green because "the fire isn't there yet." I think it's clever.

11:00 Only one boy remains, the same boy from the forest fire picture. We play doctor together and cook soup for his Pokemon stuffed animal. His parents arrive and I clean the trashed room, deciding to push the shelves back to make more room for playing.

The result of my labor before it gets messy again:

11:20 I get home. I make tortellini soup and pull turkey out of the freezer, but the turkey seems to have gone bad. I play with Mattie for a long time.

I get into writing again, and also read about National Parks and other random things while Mattie sleeps across my legs. Murphy prefers to keep my mom in sight.

2:20 I make myself get up to check on Donald and get the book I've been reading.

Throughout the afternoon I almost finish the book, write a ton, and talk with my family, who is all sitting around. My mom reads some dog articles out loud.

6:20 We do family Advent and then eat dinner. It's the same as yesterday. Chewing makes my bad ear hurt. After we eat, I do the dishes and sweep, which takes forever. I make overnight oats for tomorrow. In this case, it's oats, chia seeds, flax seed, pure cacao, blueberries, bananas, and milk.

7:15 I come upstairs and let poor Donald out of his cage while I study for the exam. Donald eats popcorn and whenever he drops a piece, he rings his bell so I'll pick it up.

8:05 I leave my room to go shower and wash my hair.

8:45 I get on FaceTime with Jasmine to watch the Muppets Christmas Carol. I would die for all the mice and rats.

10:15ish The movie ends. I accidentally screw around on Wikipedia and then get in bed to read.