This will be surprising to most of you on opposite day, but I tend to be a pretty structured, scheduled person.
A couple of examples of what this looks like in the big picture:
September 1st: fall decor
October 1st: Halloween decor
November 1st: Thanksgiving decor
Sunday after Thanksgiving: Christmasday
Monday after Thanksgiving: Christmas cards go out
December 1st: start unwrapping books and Elf on the Shelf
Weekend after New Year’s Day: winter decor
February 1st: Valentine’s decor
You get the picture (yes, I start in the fall; my brain is still a teacher brain).
Enter illness and a shipping glitch last week. Our Christmas decor is struggling (at best), our Christmas cards are in Kentucky, and I’m okay with it (don’t tell Mr. Gray; I like to give him a hard time). Those are rough guidelines. It’s not the end of the world. They just help me keep from feeling overwhelmed.
I struggled with missing Christmasday; it’s the first time in seven years we haven’t cut down our Christmas tree on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Baby Gray and I did a few things and got a touch of Christmas spirit going. Hopefully, Mr. Gray will be well soon, and we will be on our way to our stored stuff and the Christmas tree farm to get the rest of it pulled together.
It’s okay to say no, change plans, and be a flexible when life calls for it. We don’t have to do ALL the things ALL the time.
If you get easily overwhelmed, step back for a second. Make a plan–not a hard and fast, live and die by it plan, but a manageable list. Cut some things out. Don’t try to do it all. Nothing will be fun if your family is barely keeping their head above water. Keep the important things and forget about the rest.
