My Christmas cards were mailed today. December 23rd. Talk about getting in out just under the wire.
That seems to be a reflection on life around here lately. The span from Back to School until Christmas is always a wild and chaotic time in our house, but this year has seemed especially chaotic.
Blame it on kids getting older and having more packed lives with homework & activities. Blame it on my business growing and requiring more time from me. Blame it on Thanksgiving being late and rolling too quickly into December.
The truth of it is that all these things have contributed. And you know what? I wouldn’t change a bit of it.
Sure, it would be nice to feel a little calmer and a little more focused on it all. But when I look at our lives, I cannot find one thing I would want to give up. We are happy. We enjoy our activities. We have dear friends. We laugh often. And we love each other hard.
Christmas is always a time that leads to me reflecting on the year that has past and planning for the year to come… I notice the changes in the kids from the previous holiday season – this year I am particularly struck by my Little Lion who has grown to a sweet 5 & a half and now truly delights in thinking about and picking out the perfect gift for each of his siblings. I was amazed this year by his thoughtfulness in each gift he selected on his own. It’s moments like that which remind me that in the middle of all the chaos, we are still getting the right messages thru to them…
Christmas being at year end also spurs my thoughts for how I want to do better in the new year… for the past few years, I have chosen a word to signify my intentions for the coming year. Past words have included “focus” and “deliberate” among others which all come back to the same general idea of really buckling down and getting to work on life and business. But as I wrap up this year, I am finding that my feelings have shifted some. Maybe it’s feeling secure in my business or maybe it’s noticing (again) how quickly my little ones are growing up, but the world that is feeling right for 2020 is “enjoy”…
Because I want to spend more time enjoying my family, enjoying my “me-time”, enjoying my business and just generally enjoying life. I am blessed to be in a position which allows me to fill my hours with things that I enjoy, so why would I waste that privilege by filling my hours with things I do not? And sure, there are tasks we all have which we may not enjoy – but this year, I want to see if I can find ways to enjoy even those. How can I enjoy laundry? Well, I don’t know exactly but I plan to start by being thankful I have a big family to care for and plenty of resources to do so and see if that leads me somewhere… Maybe I will find a system that leads me to enjoy tasks like these. Maybe I won’t. But I am pretty sure that if I at least try, I will be in a better place than if I do not…
So anyway, here I am closing in on 2019, finishing off by focusing on the love and laughter in our lives… and planning to enjoy 2020…
and wishing you a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, a Happy New Year… but mostly wishing you Love & Laughter for today and everyday…
XOXO
PS: If you are headed to the beach to ring in the New Year like we are, don’t forget to pack my favorite sunscreens! And if you need travel tips, check this post out: Traveling with Littles
And if you are local to the DC area, be sure to check out my talented sister-in-law who captured my family for the portraits above!
comments