Everywhere you go during the month of December you're bombarded by the busy rush of preparing for Christmas. Everywhere you look things are being promoted to you. Gifts to buy, decorations that you just gotta have, food you have to make, etc. It's all enough to make us feel a little crazy, isn't it?
For us, it is somewhat inevitable that we WILL be busy at this time of year. This is the month where we attend a lot of parties and gatherings with friends and family plus we still have all our regular stuff going on like Awana and sports for the girls. But we also have a choice to make in just how crazy we make ourselves, yes?
Today I want to share a few blog posts that have truly inspired me lately as well as a couple quick tips that I have found helpful over the years.
One thing I am slowly learning year by year is to let go of those feelings of what a 'perfect' Christmas needs to look like. I shamefully admit I've spent too many times stressing out because we didn't get that perfect photo or my house didn't look magazine worthy or plans just simply didn't pan out as I had hoped they would. Some times even our best laid plans can fall through. One year I was so excited to attend our annual Christmas brunch for our MOMS group at church and that morning I woke up with the stomach bug. What a disappointment to have to miss such a wonderful morning! We also had a Christmas Eve and Christmas day a few years back when half of our family had the stomach bug. My poor daughter could hardly enjoy opening her gifts because she felt so icky. So yes, plans can change, life gets in the way, things don't always turn out the way we want.
This week my friend Jessica had a great post about this idea of perfectionism. I hope you'll go here to check it out.
Another post that has inspired me today was from Emily at Chatting at the Sky. She shares the idea that a gift doesn't have to be something you buy in a store, click here to read the 10 gifts you can give that won't cost you a cent, but will have lasting worth. {Bonus, her post today is also a giveaway of her book, which I have and am LOVING!}
This post, from my friend Sarah, is where she says what she's NOT doing this year. It's OK to say to yourself 'I don't have to do it all, every year.' It's OK. Let me repeat ... It's okaaaayyy! Choose a couple favorite traditions and let the rest go. It's more about enjoying what you ARE doing, then trying to cram in so much that no one's enjoying it anymore.
My personal goal this year is to slow down. Enjoy the moments. Disconnect from electronic things and just be.all.there. A friend Mindy talks about this here.
And lastly, here is something I started doing a bunch of years ago and it works well for me. I know this won't be everyone's ideal way to spend the season, but for me, it helps me immensely. You ready? Here it is - my big, Christmas time 'secret' .... I try to have all the busy things done by the 2nd week in December. This means I start in early November and over the course of several weeks I get most of the things done. So by the 2nd week in December I hope to have:
*all gifts bought
*all cards bought, addressed and mailed out
*parties and such penciled in on the calendar
*decor up, tree up, etc
Does it always happen as I had planned? Nope. Of course not. But this is my goal each year. Why? Because then I can spend those last 2 weeks before Christmas simply enjoying ... reading with my girls, baking together, driving around looking at lights, wrapping gifts in the evening while the girls are in bed, watching fun Christmas movies all snuggled together, dancing and singing to Christmas carols together. Just soaking in the season. And that is my goal.
I also adopt a more relaxed school schedule in December too. It's nice to give ourselves a little leeway so we can use the extra time to bake or work on making gifts for people or just more reading and snuggle time. I know there will be lots of cold January days when we'll have plenty of time to do school work, but Christmas comes only once a year and the book work will always be there after the season.
I know myself enough to know that I cannot be a last minute person, I get easily stressed out when I try to do things last minute. I know several people who THRIVE in that situation, but I get cranky and crazy when I leave things until the last minute. So for me to truly enjoy the season, this needs to be my goal.
I hope that each of you will find a way to slow down and enjoy this Christmas season. If you haven't already, you should check out my previous post which is a giveaway, and take a few minutes to read through the comments on how other people find rest and peace at this time of year.
Showing posts with label rest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rest. Show all posts
Monday, December 5, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
{Day 24} Rest
**We are away on a little vacation for a few days so I'm going to keep my posts a bit shorter for the next couple of days. I want to fully enjoy being here with my family and not be consumed with blogging - hopefully you'll all understand! And for some reason blogger is not cooperating with me in uploading my '31 days' picture so I'm sorry it's not here! **
One of the most important things that helps me become a joyful wife and mom is time to rest. Being a Mom is a FULL time job, can I get an Amen? Often times it's also a TOUGH job. It requires LONG hours and NO pay {monetarily speaking at least}.
The rewards of course are far more important than anything money could buy. Things like sweet hugs and kisses from your little ones, those sweet 'I love you Mama' sentiments, being there to see all their firsts or kiss their boo-boos. It's an amazing privilege to be a Mom, but also one of the toughest jobs I've ever held.
Which brings me to the need for rest. Every person who holds any kind of job gets at least SOME time off. And Moms should be no different. Now our time off might be a little shorter or different than most jobs, but having a break every once in a while is a good thing.
Rest can come in many different ways - here are some things that I've enjoyed and found especially restful and refreshing:
* a weekend away either at a Women's retreat, Women of Faith event or a scrapbook weekend with friends. It is SO good to be with your girlfriends, to laugh, cry, talk and share. It is wonderful to be around other women who share in the same struggles you do. To encourage one another and just have FUN!
* a Sunday afternoon nap. Sounds so simple, right? But as long as Dad can watch the kiddos for a little while I say go for it! You'll feel like a new woman!
* coffee night with girlfriends while the kids are at Awana - being a homeschool Mom means my kids are with me almost 24/7 - so Awana night is a great chance when they are at church having fun and my girlfriends and I enjoy coffee or dinner out.
* a quiet evening at home to watch a chick flick and soak my feet. Some evenings my hubby works later, or sometimes he might even be away for the weekend. So once the girls are in bed I soak my feet in my foot bath and watch a movie that I KNOW my hubby wouldn't enjoy. Then I give myself a pedicure and manicure.
* a walk by myself - a couple weeks ago I went for a walk in the cemetery where my Dad is buried. I hadn't been there for a long time even though it's very close to my house. It was a beautiful fall day and I just walked and enjoyed the fresh air and time alone with my thoughts. And I went and saw his grave for the first time in a long time - and yes it brought tears and grief - but in a weird way it was very a very restful and refreshing time for my soul.
* a quiet afternoon to read. Kids are playing happily? Let yourself get lost in a book for a little while! Better yet - have everyone take a 'quiet hour' in the afternoon where everyone has to be on his or her own bed reading books for one hour - and instead of using that time to clean your house, make yourself go lay down with a book too!
I'm sure we could easily list a hundred other ways to find rest. The thing is to make time for it. Rest can mean so many different things to different people. Figure out what works for you. Enlist help - ask hubby to watch the kids for a short time so you can go to a bookstore and browse while you enjoy a coffee. Ask the grandparents to take the kids for a couple of hours. Share childcare with a friend. Just make sure you are finding ways to get a bit of rest and relaxation time away from your kids.
Today's Challenge:
When was the last time you had some time of rest? If your child is 12 and you tell me 12 years ago I WILL yell at you! LOL, just kidding! But if that's the truth, I think you're far overdue! Try to figure out a time when you can get a little rest time. It could be something really simple. Maybe your idea of rest is completely different than all my ideas - and that is FINE! Maybe rest for you is making sure that you get your kids in bed early so you have a couple hours to yourself in the evening and then get to bed early enough every night in order to get a good night's sleep - that's OK too, that kind of rest is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL! I promise you will be a joyful Mama when you have a little rest, a little break from your kids every once in a while. So get your calendar out and SCHEDULE it, the same way you've been learning to schedule those dates with your hubby {you have been doing that right?!}
One of the most important things that helps me become a joyful wife and mom is time to rest. Being a Mom is a FULL time job, can I get an Amen? Often times it's also a TOUGH job. It requires LONG hours and NO pay {monetarily speaking at least}.
The rewards of course are far more important than anything money could buy. Things like sweet hugs and kisses from your little ones, those sweet 'I love you Mama' sentiments, being there to see all their firsts or kiss their boo-boos. It's an amazing privilege to be a Mom, but also one of the toughest jobs I've ever held.
Which brings me to the need for rest. Every person who holds any kind of job gets at least SOME time off. And Moms should be no different. Now our time off might be a little shorter or different than most jobs, but having a break every once in a while is a good thing.
Rest can come in many different ways - here are some things that I've enjoyed and found especially restful and refreshing:
* a weekend away either at a Women's retreat, Women of Faith event or a scrapbook weekend with friends. It is SO good to be with your girlfriends, to laugh, cry, talk and share. It is wonderful to be around other women who share in the same struggles you do. To encourage one another and just have FUN!
* a Sunday afternoon nap. Sounds so simple, right? But as long as Dad can watch the kiddos for a little while I say go for it! You'll feel like a new woman!
* coffee night with girlfriends while the kids are at Awana - being a homeschool Mom means my kids are with me almost 24/7 - so Awana night is a great chance when they are at church having fun and my girlfriends and I enjoy coffee or dinner out.
* a quiet evening at home to watch a chick flick and soak my feet. Some evenings my hubby works later, or sometimes he might even be away for the weekend. So once the girls are in bed I soak my feet in my foot bath and watch a movie that I KNOW my hubby wouldn't enjoy. Then I give myself a pedicure and manicure.
* a walk by myself - a couple weeks ago I went for a walk in the cemetery where my Dad is buried. I hadn't been there for a long time even though it's very close to my house. It was a beautiful fall day and I just walked and enjoyed the fresh air and time alone with my thoughts. And I went and saw his grave for the first time in a long time - and yes it brought tears and grief - but in a weird way it was very a very restful and refreshing time for my soul.
* a quiet afternoon to read. Kids are playing happily? Let yourself get lost in a book for a little while! Better yet - have everyone take a 'quiet hour' in the afternoon where everyone has to be on his or her own bed reading books for one hour - and instead of using that time to clean your house, make yourself go lay down with a book too!
I'm sure we could easily list a hundred other ways to find rest. The thing is to make time for it. Rest can mean so many different things to different people. Figure out what works for you. Enlist help - ask hubby to watch the kids for a short time so you can go to a bookstore and browse while you enjoy a coffee. Ask the grandparents to take the kids for a couple of hours. Share childcare with a friend. Just make sure you are finding ways to get a bit of rest and relaxation time away from your kids.
Today's Challenge:
When was the last time you had some time of rest? If your child is 12 and you tell me 12 years ago I WILL yell at you! LOL, just kidding! But if that's the truth, I think you're far overdue! Try to figure out a time when you can get a little rest time. It could be something really simple. Maybe your idea of rest is completely different than all my ideas - and that is FINE! Maybe rest for you is making sure that you get your kids in bed early so you have a couple hours to yourself in the evening and then get to bed early enough every night in order to get a good night's sleep - that's OK too, that kind of rest is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL! I promise you will be a joyful Mama when you have a little rest, a little break from your kids every once in a while. So get your calendar out and SCHEDULE it, the same way you've been learning to schedule those dates with your hubby {you have been doing that right?!}
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