by Tiffany Blevins
“The Best Laid Plans..of mice and men often go awry.” A saying adapted from Robert Burn’s Poem “To a Mouse” which was written in 1785 but still applicable for today. In a generation where procrastination is a common culprit of unfufilled plans, that was not the case over Christmas break 2017 for Tiffany Blevins
I went into this break with a carefully laid out plan that included the obligartory visits of family and friends, thoroughly cleaning house for my grandfather (whome I live with), investing in my art and writings, and studying the spring’s semester subjects so that I can be ahead upon my return. Although I had every intention to fufill all of my goals and make my vacation productive, I did not finish everything I had planned to. My first bump in my plans was the sudden illness of my Opa (grandfather). He’s okay now, stubbornly going against doctor’s orders and is eating to his hearts happiness, working on vehicles out in the barn in almost freezing weather, and I have on occasion, since he’s been well, caught him with a Cheyenne Red 100 between his lips. My first two weeks home was a juggling act between forcing him to behave the docor and getting ready for Christmas.
Christmas is a huge investment of time and money every year for me. I bought for 42 people this year mostly framily some friends. Shopping is never an issue. At the beginning of every year I start shopping for the next holiday season. However, I pride myself on wrapping. 25% of a present is the gift itself. The other 75% is in the presentation of the gift. With that in mind, carefully presenting 42 gifts is a nightmare that takes hours and hours. Not to mention the families I gift cookes to. 18 dozen cookies is how many were baked. That is a total of 216 cookies. A combination of chocolate chip and peanut butter. Every year the same cookies as is Tiffany tradition. Those tasks consumed my time all the way up until December 21. the next 5 days were spent in an elation of gift giving, food comas, church going, and hugs of loved ones and their appreciation of my time.
December 27th eventually rolls around and I am exhausted. My time is then spent in peaceful rest until the New Year in which I begin my New Years resolutions that I have every year to be organized in all areas of my life and to stay consistent. As I write this I have less than a week left until I return to school. That means the rest of my time will be spent getting everything together I will need to live in the dorms for the next 16ish weeks. Although I did not get my hefty goals accomplished, I completed the most important one of showing the people in my life how much they mean to me, by giving them the gift of my most valuable rescource, my time. My plans didn’t work out how I expected, but I am happy all the same the way everything played out on my Christmas Break.
