As I sat here this evening thinking of the new month about to come in, I let my mind wander over the month ahead and then the annual "GASP" occurred. "WHAT are we going to do about Christmas?!"
I know what I'm going to do about it. I'm going to enjoy it. I'm not going to focus on work. I've been focusing on work all year long and I've done about all I'm going to do outside of routine housework until the New Year is here. I'm dusting my hands of all the goals I didn't meet, the jobs not yet done or only partly done. Away! I want to make this an epic month of enjoying the season.
1. I'm not going to plan a family day at this time. I'm going to wait and hear what my children's plans are and we'll plan from there. I know when Katie's family is celebrating their day while Taylor is visiting, and we've got that date on our calendar. I know Sam will be home Christmas Day and I've already been asked to make time to see the kids that day. I have no clue what Jd means to do or when he's off. I will run by Mama's at some point during the holiday week, perhaps even on Christmas Eve, but I'm not planning anything.
What if they all get together and decide to come here? So be it. I'll make something simple, like a pot of chili and a big pan of cornbread and call it good. Okay? Okay.
2. Forget about it! I learned that phrase from a Brooklyn native and it's appropriate for the holidays, I think. Honestly, I'm tired of the push and pull and tug of wars that holidays have become. I hated it when I was first married, I loathed it when my children were small and everyone demanded we drag them all over creation for family gatherings, I loathed it when my holidays at home were fraught with tensions because some people insisted that certain other people had to be there, and those who wouldn't come because someone else was coming and menus had to be thus and so. I loathe the annual whine and cry fest that inevitably accompanies any holiday this time of year. I loathe approaching the holidays with my stomach in a knot, trying to juggle nineteen things and please all the unpleasable people. I'm over it all. Gracious what a rant on my part, but there you are. I'm done.
3. Plan some fun things into my calendar. I've already had John put the date for the annual Christmas program at church on his phone calendar. We'll go to the afternoon performance. I'm going to remind him I've asked for a visit to the mountain, not because we're in need of deep prayer but because it's lovely and I enjoy the time we take to talk to God there. John doesn't like to drive in the dark but I think I might be able to get him out if we keep it very local. I want to perhaps go to the Walk through Bethlehem a local church puts on each year. I think it would be nice to take the grandchildren with us there. I'd like to ride around and look at Christmas lights, another thing that can be done locally.
4. Bake our favorite cookies. And by 'our', I mean mine and John's. Yes, I'll probably make the one cookie that both Katie and Sam agree is there favorite, (Raspberry thumbprint cookies) but this year I'm going to make the cookies I want and John's favorite. John wants his Stovetop Cookies at Christmas each year. I want to make Date Nut Balls, Butterscotch Haystacks, Magic Cookie Bars, Pecan Snowballs and Butter Mints.... I don't plan to be a pig and eat them all. I plan to give a few away and if we have company, I'll bring them out and serve with coffee.
5. Make a stack of books by my chair that contain my favorite Christmas stories or passages.
6. Watch a holiday movie at least twice a week.
7. Continue to think about the New Year and get my resolutions worked out.
8. Live Gently. What does that even mean, lol? It means I'm going to go as easily as I can through this month. I'm going to make simple meals which will make John super happy as he likes simpler food. I'm not going to worry about what I can't do for others and instead focus on what I can. I'm going to decorate my home but not go over the top decorating. I'm going to bake but not tons because I enjoy it, but I'm not going to push myself to the point of stress. I'm going to keep my home as neat and organized as I can, but I'm not going to do deep cleaning. I'm going to sit on the porch and soak up the sun. I'm going to watch the sunset each evening and the deer cavorting across the lawn (six this evening when I was in the kitchen and one standing right under the Faith tree!). I'm going to gaze at the stars and pretend I'll search for the heavenly star and listen to the sighing of the wind in the pine trees. In short, I'm going to slow down and appreciate the season we're in.
And those are my goals for December 2024. What's yours?
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Psst! This link leads to the sort of candy Granny put out each year for Christmas. It's pricey...but I'm so tempted to get it for nostalgia's sake!
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