Boom. The Christmas cards are done and in the mail. On the last day in November. He shoots. He scores. Now it’s present buying time. I already have some. I feel as though this may well be as pressure free a Christmas as I’ve had in a long, long time. It feels nice. The good feeling will continue later today when I meet hold friends from Houston to celebrate a birthday with a lunch.

I was also thinking this cold morning might be a good day to go out and move some bulbs. I have some beneath the big Crape Myrtle that need to be moved to a sunnier location. I moved one a while back. It thrived. Missed my opportunity to move the rest. It’s back today. I have another batch of bulbs that need to be separated and spread around. I can do that as well, adding it to my list of accomplishments.

Speaking of which, back in the summer when I realized I was letting my house slide into ruin, I made a list. Twenty-two items. It hangs on the wall in my kitchen. I scratch things off when I complete them. I am well on my way toward finishing off that list. That feels good, too. So, there we have it. I’m feeling good. Now I’m going to eat breakfast and get on with the day. Because that’s what we do. Get on with it.

John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Tale