# 84 BEST GIFT EVER

Today I got a very unexpected early Christmas present. So unique, that I think duplication is as remote as the chance of you spending this Christmas on the moon.

Now I’m sure you all at one time or another have thought it was Sunday when it was Saturday or Thursday when it was Friday. But when you’re retired, as I am, sometimes more than a week can go by without any need to know what day it is. So sometimes, for days on end, I haven’t a clue what day it is.

And last Monday was one of those days. On Monday, December 5th, I sat down at my table to write out cheques for each of the various bills I received in the last couple of weeks. I knew it was Monday, but when I glanced at the calendar for the day number – in my usual early-morning state of abstraction and distraction, I decided it must be December 12th. So I dated every transaction December 12th. And the more things I dated the more convinced I was that it was the 12th.

Then just yesterday, I was scanning the Television for something interesting to watch and I realized that I had lost, and thus gained a week on my calendar. That was my unexpected gift – an extra week – that’s a whole seven days, extra days, bonus days, gratuitous days, to prepare for Christmas. But oh the horror, to realize that for the very first time in my entire life I had sent out post-dated cheques.

But despite that grievous fault the whole time-warp was a double bonus. Because during my distracted phase, when I thought a week had passed that was still pending, I panicked. And in my panic, I wrapped all my gifts, brought up the tree, house cleaned and organized the refuse and clutter, reluctantly put aside my knitting, wrote the previous blog fully expecting it would be the last I would have time for before the big day.

And also, last week, while in my state of panic, while I was yet distracted date-wise, I even added that dirty four-letter word to my vocabulary – P-L-A-N. With so little time to complete pre-Christmas stuff I had to plan. And in that plan today was supposed to be a day for baking bread, shortbread, and making nylesnky (sp?) to freeze and bring out later for Christmas dinner. Also in my plan for today there were chocolate truffles and gum drop loaves. But now that I have an extra week, why panic? I have seven extra days to do all that.

So don’t disturb me today. I’m busy knitting, listening to Christmas music and reveling in the joy and leisure of a most appreciated and unexpected surprise gift – an extra week before Christmas.