And just like that, it was the Monday before Christmas. It means the beginning of a jam-packed but very cosy week every single year, but this time, it really takes the cake. Hence, I have to keep the blog a little shorter this week, although I feel somewhat sorry about that. After all, with all the adventures of the past months, I could easily write ten more blogs. And it actually all started last week already…
On the absolute top of my list of new year’s resolutions: become a more structured person and plan things a little – oh, if only just a little – longer ahead
It was on Thursday night that I decided to take an early train the next morning for a weekend in Rome (on the absolute top of my list of new year’s resolutions: become a more structured person and plan things a little – oh, if only just a little – longer ahead). After almost six months, I was back in my former hometown, and it was as special as it was incredibly normal. Besides getting together with my dear friends again, my visit also had a more practical reason: I finally got to pick up a big part of my belongings that had been stored in Rome all this time.
Monday morning – hence, today – I woke up to a bedroom that was not unlike the ‘lost and found’ section at a busy airport
Having returned late Sunday night, I woke up Monday morning – hence, today – to a bedroom that was not unlike the ‘lost and found’ section at a busy airport. There were suitcases, clothes and bags everywhere. There wasn’t really much time to sort it out, because the week before Christmas also means lots of concerts all over Italy that still require my full attention this whole week. At the same time, the festivities are really starting now: tomorrow night I have my first Christmas dinner of the year at a secret location here in Milan. Expectations are high! The presents I’m bringing I got in Rome on Sunday afternoon. The day after that, on Wednesday night, I fly to the Netherlands where the festivities really take off.
It’s a race against the clock every year, but every year I enjoy it so very much
Oh, how I love those busy days before Christmas when I still have presents to buy, outfits to put together, dishes for the Christmas dinner to come up with and my nails to get done at the salon. On Friday evening, the annual Christmas dinner with my girlfriends is going to happen, and on Saturday morning I get to meet my tiniest little friend who is not even six weeks old yet for the very first time. And then Saturday night, it’s Christmas Eve. We made it. Although Sunday, Christmas Day, will probably still be the busiest day of the week, with the big Christmas dinner, wrapping the last presents, a last-minute poem to write and my siblings and their partners getting together at my parents’ house. It’s a race against the clock every year, but every year I enjoy it so very much. Those last shopping runs into town with Christmas carols and lights everywhere, seeing my girlfriends more than ever, the whole family coming together, and every day a reason for another beautiful outfit. And when I was about to close this blog, another thought popped into my head: I must not forget to take a panettone, a traditional Italian Christmas cake home with me. I’ve immediately put it in my phone as a reminder. I wish you all a very merry week, busy or not busy, with lots of plans or with no plans at all. Have a wonderful Christmas, give more than you take and be kind to each other. Buon natale!