December is usually a busy and bustling time for me. Blazer games, year end business activities, holiday parties, preparations for travel or guests and gathering with dear friends all coincide for a year end crescendo. But not this year.
Yes, my year end business activities are still happening and we did get a Christmas tree. I'm sending cookies to family with whom we usually gather, and the three of us are planning Christmas (and Don's birthday) celebrations.
It's SO calm. Oh, believe me, I miss the hustle and bustle. But I'm noticing activities are less emotionally loaded. Heck, no one has been in my home since February, who cares if the tree isn't perfect? Yes, we'll set a nice table for Christmas dinner, but I'm loving the absence of so many "supposed to's" and "have to's".
I'm thinking a lot about the difference in my attitude and standards. Though we usually gather with close family, there is no reason they'd be judgmental that there aren't a good balance of blue lights toward the top of the tree. It wouldn't really matter that I don't have matching red candles for the dinner table, would it?
I really need to hang on to this relaxed approach and bring it back next year (we will be able to gather by then won't we?). COVID has taught us all a lot. I hope one of the things I remember is the importance of the connections and the unimportance of perfection.
