Catching Up

I really, really enjoyed Advent this year. It was the most relaxing Advent I've ever had. I evaluated which activities were important and which I could let go. And I let go. I said no to a cookie exchange. My Christmas decorations were minimal. We even opted to see Santa at our church one Sunday instead of heading to the mall (which meant that we missed the photo session). I bought most of the gifts on-line or purchased gift cards. It felt good to take care of myself (and take care of my family) by remaining fairly stress-free this year.

Despite turning down some extra things that could have been fun, the Christmas season was so joyful for us. We celebrated so many traditions, some new and some old. We spent lots of time as a family, which was my only wish for this year. And we kept the season Holy. It lead to lots of reflection on what role Christ has in my life. It lead to lots of affirmation that our kids are starting to "get it," understanding that Jesus was a special baby that was born under very special circumstances. I have no doubt that our kids will grow in faith each year as we celebrate Advent as a family. We're doing a good job as parents in raising them in our faith.

But peace doesn't come without price. Such a relaxing December means a very busy January. I'm finally getting to a point since December 1st where I feel like I'm catching up. I'm catching up on the cleaning (just last week, I did a happy dance because I was caught up on laundry for the first time since December 1st. And, I actually washed all of the bathroom sinks in the house for the first time in a few weeks.). I am catching up on the organizing (the store room and garage require hours of sorting, purging, consolidating now that the basement is finished and the stuff has somewhere to go). I am catching up on the committee work I'm involved in (my family reunion this summer -and- the nursery renovation committee at my church). And I am catching up on the scrapbooking I need to do (haha - I'm still 9 months behind - this is one area that will NEVER be caught up).

I never feel quite right unless I feel things are "enough" in order (which varies with me from time to time, but I always know when I get there). I'm beginning to feel that things will be close enough soon. And then, hopefully, I can start sleeping better, my eyelid will stop twitching, and my neckaches will go away. All my symptoms of stress will melt away and I'll return to the way I felt in December, relaxed and at peace.

I miss December.