Today, I am looking forward through the season of Christmas and pondering what I want for our family. Not material gifts, but lifelong lessons and memories that we will enjoy for years to come. Husband and I are firm believers in being intentional and decisive with our time–and also living with margin so the little (and big!) surprises in life do not sink the ship.
A couple things I decided:
I want our Christmastime to be ripe with hope. I want my 4 year old to have a better understanding of Christmas when all is said and done. I want to host the women in my family for a Christmas tea. I want to have our friends over for a New Years Day brunch (a little after Christmas–but still part of the season!). I want the evenings to be spent warm and cozy with Husband–catching up on "normal" after our season of "stretched". Those are my "main things" this Christmas.
When I look at that list, I know that there will be nos that come with my yeses. I am actually okay with that. I know that life is lived in opportunity cost–giving up one thing so that you can pursue another.
When I look at what I want for our advent season, I see these truths. I need to cultivate hope in my heart so that it overflows into my words and actions to my family. I need to say no to fear, no to anxiety, no to stress, no to rushing. For Twig1 to have an age appropriate understanding of Christmas, we need to spend more time talking about that than watching silly television so that I can "get work done". I need to say no to unnecessary assignments, I need to say no to procrastination, I need to say no to distraction. To have the two events I want to host at my house, I'll need to say no to the countless others I'd love to dream up. And to have cozy evenings at home, means very few "festive" evenings out.
What are your hopes for the holiday season? What are our "most important"s and your "must do"s? What do you need to say no to so you can say a resounding YES to the very things that will bring joy to your heart this Christmas?
In other Christmas news…I'm over at The Creative Mama today with an easy homemade ornament DIY.
And click here to go back to 25 Days of ADVENTURE[ure] :: Day One!