The Five Things I’m Doing This Holiday Season
Leave it to me–to figure the last month of 2019 is when I should really get it together. Something about the end of the year and the start of something completely new… leads us procrastinator types to jump into high gear. I’d love to totally Kondo my apartment, write like a hundred more blog posts, and aesthetically decorate every square inch BUT… I’m human and more importantly, a working mom. So I’ve decided to focus my time and energy into these FIVE sacred things to help me celebrate and prepare for the new year:
1. Loving my body
The holidays equal more reasons to say yes to seconds and JIM who? But let’s be real here. I haven’t worked out in a hot minute till I tried yoga while my one year old napped… only to have him wake up midway. But the new year plus holidays, remind me to love my body by eating real food (less Toll House) and bringing up my heart rate. It’s a hung jury on whether I’ll actually commit to a gym but what I can say is– I will intentionally bookmark Youtube work out videos. It’s a start right?
On the real real, I will intentionally say yes to more water, greens, home cooked meals and submit a pregnant pause to more alcohol, Netflix, and Van Leeuwen. I don’t know why’d you join me– but consider it?
2. Celebrating the WHOLE thing my way
I love celebrations and I love keeping up with the Joneses Kardashians. So whenever a sweet, photogenic, family pops up my Instagram explore page with another tradition to honor Christmas or whatever… I’ll add it to my list. Only to feel guilty about the lack of perfectly coordinated Christmas ornaments and monogramed stockings hung on our non-existent fireplace. Therefore, I’m all about going ALL out but being really OK about doing it my way.
I still plan on probably unsuccessfully baking two types of cookies on Christmas Eve. We’ve already purchased a (gasp!) pre-guilt gingerbread house. Our good ‘ole skinny artificial tree has been lit up since before Thanksgiving. We’re doing it. We love it. But we’ll focus on the bigger moments like cherishing Advent and going the whole nine yards– our way. No apologies necessary.
3. Reading the Gospel of Luke
I’m an English teacher by choice and therefore, I’ll mantra and convince you that reading WILL save change your life. But in the busy-ness of everything and the easy-ness of Netflix/Hulu/ Disney+ (not a coincidence), reading and meditating takes a back seat. Since the start of Advent and leading up to the true celebration of Jesus’ Birth, I’ve decided to read one chapter a day in the Gospel of Luke. This will conveniently lead us up to the New Year!
I’ve also decided to try reading the Message translation because why not? Either way, I wanted to keep myself accountable but also in a bite-size way. I’m hoping that this will springboard into more reading for the new year as well. If you’d like to join or follow me– find me on my Instagram!
4. Organizing…FORREALS
This seems obvious but as an impressionable consumer, I need to look at the things I have. Without a proper tally or knowledge, I’ll end up buying things I don’t need and covet things that aren’t for me. It’s all about recognizing the things we have before we start looking at what we don’t have. It all started with my black-hole closet when I realized, I have FIVE chunky knit sweaters.
Side Bar: No girl really needs FIVE chunky knit sweaters. I’d rather have two chunky one and three thinner and more layer-able sweaters. Now moving forward, I’ll stay away from the chunky ones.
This is really to say– I’ll be decluttering and organizing my house to practice gratitude and recognize that I don’t really need all that stuff. And maybe the exhausting decluttering will help me realize that… having stuff is just a pain. Think minimally. It’s never too late… even if you’re like me and are one too many chunky knits deep.
5. Reflecting over this year
Excuse me– while I scroll through my Photo Stream and ugly cry over all the memories with our family. It’s time to actually stop and watch that three minute video just to catch your baby uncontrollably giggling. It’s time to cherish all the good, bad, and ugly that has unfolded. I’m still amazed that I now have an 16 month old baby and we’ve all (relatively) made it! We’ve survived two job switches, a move, a first birthday, two dozen illnesses and the daily grind of ADULTING. Cheers to another year of joys and memories that remind us how precious life can be!
Whether your list looks similar or not at all, it’s important to celebrate! A full year of life with so much blessing– even through the hard times– is necessary to celebrate! In case, you were waiting for permission to cheer for your amazing/average/sub-par year… GO FOR IT. The more we take as good and gratitude, the easier it is to live in thanksgiving and grow for a new year. Because ready or not– here comes the next best decade of our lives!