Dec 7, 2020
After cold, leaky nights, kids falling out of beds, hospital stays, and so much more, Tyler decided enough was enough. We held out like troopers (some better than others), we made it work as long as we could. But we desperately needed a little blessing in our lives.
Tyler was able to find us a hotel with kitchen that allowed cats.
We have one room for Tyler and me and the kids get the living area and that gives us a ton more privacy and space. Due to the 2 week quarantine mandate, the hotel is virtually empty. They partner with Lysol and keep everything very sanitary and don’t even have a maid service unless you ask for it. So we can hole up in here and feel safe.
And I can’t even tell you how good it feels. There was an instant change in our moods. I spent the night completely worry free. The kids are laughing again, Tyler is playing and wrestling with them, the cats are running around getting exercise, and it feels like we can finally enjoy ourselves.
But most of all, it gave me the gift of the Christmas spirit. Until then, I’ve had nothing. I’ve had years where I feel annoyed with all I have to do for Christmas, but this was by far the worst. Simply nothing. No urge at all to do anything to bring that spark of joy Christmas brings. But all it took was a hotel room to bring it back.
I masked up and visited two of the cutest ever Christmas stores in Vermont. I skipped along the aisles, 6 feet away from everyone, and hummed Christmas music. And I gathered everything I needed to make a Very Vermont Christmas. From plaid stockings to birds and squirrels in the tree. I love every bit of it.
We spent the evening with hot cocoa, decorating our tree. The tree itself turned out different than we expected when we got it out of the box (we thought it was flocked instead of all white), we only had enough ornaments to cover the front, and I’m pretty sure my cats will either knock it down or eat it. But it’s 100% perfect. And I don’t need anything else for Christmas. My kids can spend the next 3 weeks eyeing the gifts that keep appearing under the tree, gifts can get wrapped in secret in our room, Santa can make his way here Christmas night, and we can finally feel peace during these last few weeks of such a difficult year.
For now, we only have the hotel for 3 weeks to get us through Christmas. If we don’t close on the house by then, we may end up back in the RV as this is not the most financially comfortable decision. But I have 3 weeks before I need to worry about that. Until then, it’s all good.
