Flat Out!

I read on social media this morning that someone had referred to these days between Christmas and the New Year as 'a flat time'.  The writer claimed - and I'm inclined to agree with him - that these days of relaxation are as much part of Christmas as the hectic run-up to Christmas Eve.  They do indeed provide some sort of balance to life.

I found myself nodding off over the keyboard and realised that there was no need to fight fatigue any longer.  Laying aside my mouse, I settled down in the chair and fell asleep.  Emerging from a 'power nap' almost a new man (I wish!), I now find myself inspired to write this blog.

It's amazing how many people succumb to a cold over the holiday period.  Whether medically correct or not, I share a commonly held belief that the body's immune system normally runs at 'high' in order to protect us to meet the demands of daily life but, once those requirements are relaxed, it too takes a holiday and we are thus exposed to bugs and infections that would otherwise be repelled.

Certainly this seems to have been the case for me this week.  In my retired state, normal pressure at this time of  year has comprised a number of social and church engagements, including taking part in choral pieces at the annual carol service, ringing bells for an extra service, and completing the transcription of the latest batch of census entries.  I returned from a communal Christmas day lunch for people living alone and within hours I was aware of the first symptoms of a cold; by the evening of Boxing Day I was streaming.

After securing my cousin's acquiescence, I gathered together all my medication, along with other necessaries, and travelled yesterday to fulfil the plans we had made for me to spend the New Year weekend with her and her husband as I usually do.  In return for a few hours of conversation and a little light household assistance, I'm being well looked after and entertained with television programmes that my screen-limited home doesn't offer.

It's interesting to see how other people are spending their 'flat time'.  Some have travelled to foreign parts, some are exploring other parts of this realm, and others are simply content to relax and have a weekend doing very little.  One wife (and I suspect one out of a goodly number!) has prepared a list of 'jobs around the house that we need to attend to'. 

Whatever you're going to be doing in the coming days, I wish all my readers a very good New Year!