Sunday 24th December 2017

I woke really, really late today.  This is what happens when you go to bed at 4am.  But I’ve had a great few days with friends and I woke very relaxed and completely ready for xmas.
I’d had a message that I needed to be at my parents for 5pm.  I’d planned to be there then anyway, and even getting up around midday and pottering around I was packed and ready to head out at around 2pm.
The drive was uneventful save for the fact that since the last android update my work phone’s headphone socket no longer seems to work.  This wouldn’t normally be an issue, except I use it for Spotify in the car through a jack plug and it wasn’t working.
I turned up and parked the car without much drama (my parents’ close just seems to get busier and busier each time I visit) and had no last minute panics of having forgotten anything.
I was told we were heading out in the evening.  Given that my parents don’t go out much, especially not with my dad being ill, I’d pretty much worked out where we were going.  Before my dad got ill, I used to take him geocaching with friends of mine.  After I moved they stayed in contact with him and often go to visit him.  I, on the other hand, have been really bad about finding time to meet up with them, due to competitions and training and work.
I lodged with one of them for a couple of years before I bought my house, so it was weird going back to the place I used to live.  But given that I’ve been such a bad friend, it was nice to visit and spend time with my friend and his wife.
They’d invited a few friends over for an Christmas eve meal.  I knew a few people from my years geocaching, and whilst we keep up to date with each other on Facebook liking each others posts, we’d not met up in years.  It was good to see them.
The few people I did not know were chatty and friendly and mixed in well.  As a result it was a lovely evening of warmth and chat.  Given I was already in an xmas mood given the time spent with friends over the last couple of days it was just the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve evening.
Whilst I’m sure my friend and his wife were exhausted from hosting, I really hope they do it again next year as it really was a fantastic evening.
We weren’t late heading home due to my dad, but either the travel, late night last night or social interaction tired me out and so I didn’t mind the fact it was much earlier than I ever go to bed.  I’ve not really done a lot today but I still end the day feeling exhausted.
If you want to follow more of my journey, then be sure to check me on my social channels.  Likewise, if you’d like me to expand on any point mentioned above, please say so in the comments.

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