looking forward to

 I once opined that having pleasant things to look forward to was a reason to keep going. I think that was why the pandemic was so hard on a lot of us - no plans could be made, there was nothing to look forward to for literal months. 

But things are, I guess, slowly getting better. Or at least, I've given up to the point of "well, I'll probably get it eventually but hopefully my vaccines will keep me from being terribly sick or getting Long Covid. I traveled by train over Thanksgiving, it seemed to be okay (having a compartment helped). 

Tomorrow I take my one pre-Christmas "go out and shop" day, mainly to remind myself of why I do my shopping early. (But also: I want to get my annual Toys for Tots donation item; this is a long tradition I have - buying a toy I would have liked, or my brother would have liked, and donate it to Toys for Tots). I also need to get a few food items. And I want to just at least walk through the JoAnn's. 

And then, in two weeks, I get on a train. And yes, I think I can finally trust that I can. This year, I'm not battling rodents, my plumbing issue has been fixed, so the house should be good while I'm gone (and I have neighbors I know well enough to keep an eye on it and text me if something goes wrong). I'm already thinking about over-break-projects (some socks, I have a scarf I want to finish, maybe finish one of the two partially-finished vests). And books. And I want to make cookies and maybe even try my hand at some kind of candy while I am up there. And just be able to relax and be free of the tyranny of the alarm clock for a while. And of course, Christmas. 

But at least tomorrow after a long week of writing lectures and grading, I can get out and go do something just for me, and then in two weeks I get to see my mom.