Tara
Merry Christmas Philly!
I woke up at 6am on christmas morning – yesterday evening I arrived back from a week long work trip to london, very much still adjusting. I don’t mind however, I really like being awake early in the day if I wake naturally. Waking up early with an alarm isn’t for me, but I’m always happy for the extra time in the morning if it happens naturally.
I stayed in bed for about an hour, reading this new book I got to give to my dad called Under The Hornbeams. I have two more weeks to finish it, my family isn’t able to get together until Jan 12th due to various work schedules, so I have plenty of time.
Eventually it feels like time to get up, so I do my neck stretches before getting out of bed, and mosey into the kitchen to prepare a cup of coffee. I was given a pourover set by one of my closest friends for my birthday in September, and it’s become a regular step in my mornings most days. I sit for a while at the table drinking coffee, doing duolingo, sending some holiday greeting messages to friends and family, and watching the squirrel that lives in the hole above my kitchen window come in and out. Finally deciding to get dressed I try on a pair of jeans I ordered before I left on my trip. I’m not convinced that I like them once I try them on. I think they need to be hemmed but then they’ll work alright.
After spending the morning reading, communicating, and relaxing, I decide it’s time to head out and get some fresh air. I go on a short walk to my local mutual aid station to drop off some clothes and home items, then head to a neighbor’s house to hand off some unused toiletries that she’ll pass on to students she works with in an underfunded school. After that, I keep walking to stretch my legs and use the time to send some catch-up voice notes to my close friend living in the midwest. Sending videos and voice notes has become a huge part of my daily life now, and I very much prefer it for keeping communication open between friends far away.
In the afternoon, I head over to my older sister’s house, about a 10 minute walk away. Olivia is a large reason why I chose to live in West philly, and now I’m trying to sort out if I want to renew my lease another year or try a new neighborhood. But that’s a question for another day, right now I’m enjoying how quiet the streets are on my walk over. I’m bringing Olivia a tin of earl grey that I purchased at a fancy french tea store in Covent Garden, I’m really hopeful that she’ll like it. Olivia likes tea a LOT, and I’m hoping this one is up to par. Happily, she says this is a brand she’s heard really good things about and been curious to try- small win for me! She gives me a bar of chocolate and a 30 second dance party button with german techno remixes for christmas songs. We spend a while drinking tea and talking about family, travel, and work. It’s interesting to have Christmas feel like just another day. It’s not a bad thing, it’s been really nice to have a day for relaxation and contemplation, spending quality time with friends and family. It’ll be nice to have our family Christmas in January too. I love giving and receiving gifts, but it’s also not melancholy to have Christmas itself feel like another day, albeit a much slower-paced one.
After chatting for a while, Olivia has to get ready to head for night shift, and I walk to Rittenhouse to get dinner with my friend Kelsey. We go to a few places that are full before going to Yi Ping and being seated there. I get a corn and beef soup, and Kelsey gets dumplings with chili oil and noodles. It’s really nice to see her, Kelsey was one of the first close friends I made after moving to Philly and I enjoy spending time with her. We see each other fairly often but it’s generally in a group setting, so we don’t always get to catch up. We talk about her business/passion project, Good Things PHL (shameless plug to check them out on instagram or goodthingsphl.com!) and about goals, dreams, and plans for 2025.
Kelsey drops me off back in West after dinner (bless) and I start my bedtime routine. I love unwinding at the end of the day, I’m really into double cleansing right now and using an extremely thick moisturizer, I love to get into bed as greasy and moisturized as possible. It’s only 9:30 but I’m still adjusting back and don’t mind getting extra sleep.
That’s my christmas! Thanks for reading :)
