For this week’s Think Write Thursday we are welcoming December with a hearty hello:
Hello, dear December,
I love you so much, but you can be a bit overwhelming at times.
With the flurry of activities that you bring, it seems that you can be over and done with before I even know it.
This year let’s try something different, shall we?
I think we will both be much happier if we slowed down and savored the season.
I love the anticipation that is Advent…my savoring plan to appreciate Advent each day will start with some Advent meditation.
I love the decorating portion of preparing for Christmas. The tree is up, the lights are on – but there are no ornaments on yet. AND – the tree in this state is not making me crazy! I know, right? My savoring plan for tree trimming is that it will be part of this Friday’s Happy Hour celebration – cocktails, good eats, music – and Steve and I will trim the tree together.
I love the foods of Christmas, and especially the sweets. However, all those sweets are unnecessary – and don’t fit in with the diet very well. My savoring plan for cookie baking will be to bake just one or two favorites – and it a manageable quantity (not dozens and dozens of cookies of a million different types!) And, these will be things to savor – one or two at a time – over the course of the month.
Other things to that I will be doing to remind myself to slow down and savor… tune out the news and tune in the Christmas music or turn off the television and open a book and read – things that are a good reminder that the world will keep, but December won’t.
I am glad you are here December and I am looking forward to spending some quality time together!
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Love your plan to savor the moments of this season. Enjoy
Savor…exactly the plan! And the tree decorating…definitely a week long event!
Savoring in all areas sounds like a very good thing! Last year we didn’t get the tree up until the 23rd and I found I appreciated it so much more as it wasn’t something I just walked past and picked up needles from. Enjoy your festive happy hour and savor all of it!
I’ve waffled a bit on whether to put up the big tree, but then images of Junah helping Kate trim the tree last year come to mind and… WHAT AM I THINKING??? Those are the moments I’ll savor now and FOREVER!
I like your plan. December doesn’t seem to overwhelming to me this year, with Chanukah and Xmas overlapping, so we don’t have the earlier holiday pressure….but talk to me in two weeks when I feeling the seasonal flurry of activity. For now I am just knitting on the gifts and listening to the audiobooks. (Just finished Hot Milk by Deborah Levy. recommend!)
I hope your tree decorating is as much fun as it sounds like it will be!
Your plan is so mindful! A few years ago, I stopped fussing with traditions that I did because of others’ expectations and it was liberating. Now I embrace the holiday season knowing I will do what makes me happy while bringing others joy, too.
This is a lovely welcome to December.
The big thing for me in December is LIGHT! I love all the decorated houses, the trees aglow, and everywhere you look color, light, happiness! Every window in my house is lined with lights (no tree) and every surface is bright with light. Savoring this season of joy is a great way to go!
Savor is an excellent word to accompany us as we greet each Dec day and the holidays. I am focusing, as best I can, on the moments and doing/thinking/feeling the things and activities that bring me joy, peace, contentment…thank you for your suggestions as we continue on.
Cheers~
well said, Kat! Crazy cooking baking was part of my childhood (mom has German and Swedish heritage). When I was home from college for winter break, I took over the baking. One year I baked 24 different kinds of cookies – batches and batches… we gave a lot away, but we also ate them well into January. I’m sure you’re not surprised to learn that baking is not part of my holiday at all anymore … but this year, I’m going to try a few – a mix of old and new recipes, just to see if maybe baking could be part of our holiday again!
I love love love the decorating too! I used to do it all in one day but now my age is making me doing it in two. I’m okay with that 🙂 I do the baking but it’s not my favorite thing to do.
How I missed this post last Thursday I cannot really fathom. . . But. Your plan to enjoy December is absolutely perfect! XO