…Street. 

Admittedly it’s a first world problem, but it’s beginning to mar my Christmas relaxation. In fact, I don’t really feel I’ve over-eaten at all this year, must try harder.

The kids were all away at their dad’s this year (we alternate), and I decided after having a totally stress free Christmas two years when I was laid up with pneumonia that I’d do that again this year. Without the pneumonia. Or the cancer. It’s amazing. All I had to do on Christmas Eve was pop into Buckwells for some fancy steak, fry that with chips, sorted. Easy Christmas.

But then Nate, who doesn’t really do Christmas – at all – independently sourced a 9ib turkey from one of our friends and decided to cook a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings (apart from stuffing, because, bleuuurgh).

So I found myself in Waitrose, at lunch time, on Christmas Eve attempting to negotiate filling a basket with things like sprouts while pushing a pushchair, entertaining a (thankfully) well behaved 6 month old (not mine), and desperately trying to force myself to laugh at the ridiculous behaviour of some of the ‘adults’ in there. Because the alternative was killing them. It’s just not necessary, ever, to be so rude to others. 98% of the people in there just edged themselves closer to a heart attack. If you have to go out on Christmas Eve, you know what it will be like, surely it’s better to accept it and chill out than it is to barge into people, snatch things, and generally try and make the point that you are stressed about your lot? 

We had the steak for dinner on Christmas Eve, and then on Christmas Day Nate set about cooking an epic Christmas lunch with the 9lb turkey, just for the two of us. I went out to see some friends and came home to everything ready, and this:

Needless to say, we will be eating turkey for the foreseeable future.

It was an extremely relaxing Christmas, which was just what I needed after last year’s cancer related stress and the longest term from hell ever. I’ve looked at my marking pile a few times, but haven’t touched it yet; lounging about in bed eating turkey is far more appealing. 

Because I can.