I sure can’t multitask like I used to. Have any of you noticed that? And in between parents visiting for 6 days, holidays, birthdays, and a computer that was broken, fixed, broken, fixed, hopelessly broken, and then finally replaced, this blog fell off my radar. Sorry about that, folks!
We flew through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year holiday. It was our 3rd set of winter holidays with the little ones, and things are finally starting to smooth out. They understood what was going on, they knew that we’d all be together, and that when all the excitement was over, we’d go back to “normal” life. This was big progress for our little crew.
I think what helped the most, though, was me facing some basic truths. I am 53 years old. I can’t stay up half the night and then get up at 6:00 AM and function normally. I can’t drink at all if I want to feel well and energetic the next day. If I overeat, I’ll feel that, too. So common sense and moderation is key for me if I want to be the kind of mother I deep-down want to be.
This year, I looked for ways to scale back so I could focus on what most mattered. I cleaned the little kids’ room before Thanksgiving and got rid of a ton of stuff so there would be less to scatter around. Looking at it today, I can see I need to do it again! I scaled back on Christmas decorating, focusing on the main living room, dining room, and a hint in the guest bath. I finally came to the realization that all this decorating takes time, and I have precious little of it to spare.
I decided that for the whole of the holidays, I would focus on spending time with family, especially our own kids– for me, that cup of tea with my 16-year-old in front of the tree mattered more than having tons of cookies to share with every neighbor, even the ones we aren’t connected to. Those choices are what made our holidays sweet.
How did you fare?
