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the making of a holiday month
Dec. 3rd, 2017 08:51 amI really like Christmas. I would go so far as to say it is probably my favorite holiday. I like the songs, and the trees, and the lights, the festive cheer, the sharing of food -- I associate the Christmas season with a sort of warm glow of good feeling, and yet I absolutely 10,000% relate when Charlie Brown says, "Instead of feeling happy, I feel sort of let down." There have been many years when I kept waiting for that magical "Christmas moment" when I would think 'ah, yes, this is Christmas, how wonderful.'
True confession time: I'm not that great at magical moments. I tend to get distracted by practicalities -- I'm thinking about a snack, or I need to use the bathroom, or my toes are cold. It's really hard for me to not have part of my brain ranging about, which I'm told is bad for my "mindfulness" and ability to "be in the moment." But trying to change it hasn't exactly brought me tranquility and joy, so I'm trying a new strategy.
Up until Christmas, I'm trying to do something Christmas-related each day -- not all day, or even any specific portion of the day, just something. Big or small. So far I've got my outdoor lights up (no bingo yet, but we're getting closer!) and the tree mostly decorated. The goal is to take the pressure off Christmas being one perfect moment and spread out the holiday enjoyment over many days. (Holidays are supposed to be fun, right?)
Today I'm maybe baking cookies (the easy kind that are pre-made and you just put them on a pan) or maybe coloring. Or maybe both! Something enjoyably Christmas-related will happen today, and then another thing tomorrow. Maybe the same thing! Or not! And maybe none of them feel all that magical in the moment, but they add up to that nice warm holiday glow. (I mean, hopefully. We'll see.)
True confession time: I'm not that great at magical moments. I tend to get distracted by practicalities -- I'm thinking about a snack, or I need to use the bathroom, or my toes are cold. It's really hard for me to not have part of my brain ranging about, which I'm told is bad for my "mindfulness" and ability to "be in the moment." But trying to change it hasn't exactly brought me tranquility and joy, so I'm trying a new strategy.
Up until Christmas, I'm trying to do something Christmas-related each day -- not all day, or even any specific portion of the day, just something. Big or small. So far I've got my outdoor lights up (no bingo yet, but we're getting closer!) and the tree mostly decorated. The goal is to take the pressure off Christmas being one perfect moment and spread out the holiday enjoyment over many days. (Holidays are supposed to be fun, right?)
Today I'm maybe baking cookies (the easy kind that are pre-made and you just put them on a pan) or maybe coloring. Or maybe both! Something enjoyably Christmas-related will happen today, and then another thing tomorrow. Maybe the same thing! Or not! And maybe none of them feel all that magical in the moment, but they add up to that nice warm holiday glow. (I mean, hopefully. We'll see.)
