When One String of Lights Won't Light

Today was an okay day.  I am not sure if I am imagining it or getting used to it, but my foot may be hurting less.  I didn't walk as much today so that may be why it hurts less.  Let's wait until tomorrow and see what happens.

I finished making the cookies.  I probably made 5-6 dozen cookies.  Okay, I fess up.  I use the pre-made sugar cookie dough and I roll it out, cut out the shapes and decorate them.  I call them my semi-homemade cookies.  So far I have never had one person say, these taste like they are pre-made cookies.  It is tiring decorating them myself.  Red, green, red, green, it got a bit monotonous.  I mean how many red Santas can you decorate?  How many green Christmas trees?  I realize that I need new and different cut out shapes.  I was going to use some of my other shapes, like my chicken.  But then folks would ask me why I have a Christmas chicken.  Or my hippopotamus.  What does a hippo have to do with Christmas? you may ask.  Instead I stayed traditional this year.  Tree, Santa, gingerbread person, angel, snowman, candy cane and heart.  And lots of red and green!

Then I had a small catastrophe.  One half of one string of lights burned out.  I thought it was just one light bulb that blew.  NO! That would be too easy!  Almost all of the lights on that half of the sting blew.  At the same time.  This can't be good.  I replaced all the lights that were obviously blown but still the half of the string doesn't work.  It was a string that I tested prior to hanging on the tree.  It worked just fine.  I bought one of those light testers a few years ago but I can't remember how to use it and of course I don't have the directions.  I think I have another one in the box of Christmas things in the garage and I will look for it tomorrow.  Plan B is to string another string of lights on top of the non-working one.  Oh, well, these things happen.  If only it was not the string in the exact middle of the tree that is already decorated! 

Isn't this a metaphor for life and how things can go wrong no matter how much you plan?  I thought I pretty much had my life laid out in front of me.  I had time to do all sorts of things that I wanted to do. Travel, hike, ski, etc.  Then almost 20 years ago, BAM! out of the blue, RA hits me right between the eyes.  Well, actually hits my hands and my feet and hits me with such fatigue I could barely function.  Suddenly every thing was changed.  Did I have all that time?  Would I be able to do all those things?  I had to think of a different plan.  I could travel but in a different way.  Maybe I couldn't hike but I could walk.  Okay, I can't ski like I want to but I can go to ski resorts and be with everyone and still have a good time.  I had to rethink how I see my life and what part I play in it.

The Christmas lights may not work but I can choose to cry over it or fix the lights or string a new set.  I got RA and I can choose to cry over it or change my life to figure out a way to work with RA. I have chosen to change my life and work with RA.  And I am damn well going to fix or string a new set of lights!  Those lights will not beat me!

3 Days Until Christmas