Even stoplights are blinking a bright red and green!

I'm so excited for the holiday coming up!  The laughter, the joy, the ... well, just the magic of the upcoming week.  I know, it's dorky, but it really is a fun time.  The sad thing is, usually, those are the reasons I look forward to Christmas.  This year?  I'm just excited to get the hell outta Dodge.
 
On the lighter side, our bathroom floor is clean!  Poor Rod.  He had no idea how to mop a floor.  First, he got some sort of floor cleaner designed to go in the handle of the mop, so I told him to just moisten the mop and pour the cleaner directly on the mop head.  But no.  He was hell bent on using just a little bit mixed in a bucket.  So instead of showing him how to do what I was talking about, I left him to his duties. Not 30 seconds passed.  "KATIEEEEEEE!!!" I came back around the corner and... Then I saw the bucket.  It was easily 4 inches smaller than the mop.  Well, that's fine, he'd use the sink, he said.  Problem with that was (a black eye and a banged up ear later) there is so little space between the sink and the opposite wall, there is no way to get the mop in the sink without putting the handle almost vertical. And yes, I got to see him hit himself first in the face then the ear as he tried to finagle the mop into position.  Well, then he had himself wedged as the mop handle dropped, thus fencing him in, if you will.  No matter how many times I told him it wasn't meant to be diluted in water, he escaped his prison, lifted his gate and poured about 1 tablespoon of cleaner into roughly a gallon of water.  Whatever.  Do it your way, Rod.
 
He then proceeded to clean the floor with a very sodden mop that sloshed water everywhere.  But he was so proud of himself when it was done!  It was almost cute.  It's still not dry, nearly 4 hours later, but, well, the job is done, anyway.  And the floor is clean!!  Hooray!

But today is a happy day.  I won't even go into the details like despite having 16 hours of vacation pay on my pay stub, I apparently won't get paid time off for the next 5 or so days that I am taking off.  I won't mention how grumpy Rod is because he lost his cell phone.

Nope.

Instead, I'm going to point out the good things!  Rod isn't making me work next week!  And guess what, he lost his cell phone!  So approximately an hour after arriving today, he left.  Ostensibly to go look for his phone, but we are all in the same boat.  Nobody wants to work today!

So happy holidays, everyone!  I'll be leaving soon, to go enjoy my tree, the presents wrapped and waiting, impatiently, for excited fingers to rip them open.  The tension is palpable this time of year, alive with a pulse that only beats when the nights are so long, you almost forget what daylight is like.  It's our shred of hope that warmer days are ahead, but none of us forget that in the heart, these are the days that will keep us warm for the year to come.  The stuff that memories are made of...

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a Good Night!

With love,

Eye Tee Girl