I read a lovely phrase the other day, one I'd never heard. I wish I could recall whose blog I read it on but alas I cannot. It wasn't one of my usual reading places so I can't find it again. But she'd said, "It's half-past November..." For the whole of the past week, I've had that phrase in mind, "Half-past November..." Isn't that a lovely way of saying the month is fleeting?
Well, we're a bit beyond half-past now. This is the final week of November! And then we begin the final month of 2024. And next Sunday we begin Advent, another time of year that I've come to appreciate as I've gotten older. Last year, I didn't acknowledge it. We were in the throes of childcare and home renovations, and I was overwhelmed with the needs of my household. This year, I plan to take time each day for the slow meditations and moments of quiet that I find I require.
We are one month from winter's beginning days, the ultimate season of resting, planning and dreaming. But in the meantime, I've one more week before this month is over. As always, I want to make it count, but reality tells me it's time to forget what I haven't done and look ahead to what I'll need to do in the coming weeks and begin those preparations instead.
1. Get out the Christmas tree, wreaths and ornaments I think I'm using. I didn't do this last week because I let the week get away from me and then I thought about it twice before I set those things on the back porch. The kids were to come in on Saturday and I had no desire to have them digging through it, or worse, dragging it about the porch, thinking it was something to play with.
2. Plan a back-up for Thanksgiving Day. Yes, we are meant to go to Katie's. But as of this writing, Caleb is recovering, Henry is sick, Katie is sick, and Cody is beginning to get sick. There's a good chance no one there is going to feel up to a big company dinner day. It's hard to parent and be sick! They may just want to put the turkey in the oven and lay around while it's cooking, you know?
John might not want company in his home this year, and I've agreed, but if we end up going nowhere, I can pull off a dinner that day if we happen to be home. I've got an ace up my sleeve. I have my pantry. I bought a turkey breast. There are fresh sweet potatoes in the cupboard. This past winter, I had leftover cornbread which I dried out in the oven then vacuum sealed in jars. We have all the components we need to make a full meal if we choose.
3. Address Christmas Card Envelopes and get the cards ready to mail. We usually have three sets of cards to get ready. I send out a few to various folks and then John has a few he likes to send cards to, and then we have family cards that go out.
This year our granddaughter Josie asked specifically for a card with a family recipe in it. I already know which recipe I'm sharing with her. It occurred to me that this would be a nice way to help her build family connections through the food we eat. I think when Lily is ready for the marriage/family stage of life I'll start doing the same for her.
4. Get my Advent materials together.
5. Create my calendar and goal lists for December.
6. Get the last birthday card of the year into the mail. And get cards bought or ordered for next year's birthdays. I do have a card for the first birthday of January already, so I won't start out behind.
7. Slowly put away the autumn decorations.
8. Put up our tree. This shall take place on Friday and most likely so will #7 on this list. I like autumn in the house for Thanksgiving. Then I'm quite ready to transition to the next holiday. I don't decorate for Christmas quite yet. We put up the tree and for a week we'll enjoy it with just the lights.
There are more than these tasks that needs to be done by all means, but as I've sat here writing and thinking of all the things there are to do, I've gotten a rather bleak and sorry outlook. No reason for it except that I feel overwhelmed by the scope of all the things. I've even found myself getting more and more irritated with John for not attending to some repairs. And then I had to take myself to task for my lack of doing things, too. I can't very well point at him and not take my share of the responsibility for what hasn't gotten done this year. That's something I need to look at and think over and talk to him about for the year ahead.
Suffice it to say that with routine cleaning and meals, and whatever other odd jobs I see that ought to be attended to right away, I'll be busy enough this week.
Amazon Associate Affiliate Link: If you use my link to place an order at Amazon, I may earn a small commission for qualifying purchases. Thank you!
No comments:
Post a Comment