Thanksgiving has come and gone and the Christmas season is in full swing. At least by the looks of the calendar anyway. The perpetual leftovers overflowing from my fridge attest to the fact that Thanksgiving is indeed over. The as yet undecorated Christmas tree sitting in my living room seems to tell me Christmas is coming. 'Santa Clause is Coming to Town' mixes with the laughter of my children and reminds me I need to get moving.
That's the problem. I don't want to get moving. I want, just once, for time to stand still. I want to take it all in...the sights, the sounds, the smells...I want to hold on to each memory as it lingers for a moment.
No, I haven't figured out how to slow down time. The only thing I can slow down is myself. I can control my calendar over the next month and not allow it to control me. I can plan a bit and make some intentional memories with my family. I can work time into our schedules to do nothing but sit and stare at the tree with no place to go.
I can ride the crazy express train of Christmas moving at breakneck speeds, or I can intentionally slow down and walk. The express keeps me breathless and a bit on edge. I miss out on the very memories I am hoping to create simply because we are moving too fast. When I walk, I take time to watch my little girl's eyes light up as she looks at the Christmas tree. I snuggle in my comfy chair, hands wrapped around my favorite mug as Mike reads another Christmas story to the kids. The view is different when I walk. Life is more vivid and full of detail. Life is more...memorable.
I'm getting off the Christmas express. This year I think I'll walk.
We took this whole past week off from school and it was just us for Thanksgiving. It turned out to be great. All of us are feeling more rested and the house is all decorated for Christmas except we don't have a tree yet. We spent lots of time playing games together and enjoying each others company. It has been really good. December does not feel the least bit overwhelming. God has been good to us. Sometimes we just put to many demands on ourselves and just need to be reminded to slow down and rest. May God grant you the wisdom to know how to truly rest and enjoy this season. Peace.
I hope you get firmly into the "walking" habit while you still have a young family and have the fun of seeing the wonders together. When you are old and hobbling all alone, you see more but it's not nearly as much fun.
Miss Meg
I'm walking this year too! I'm longing for a much quieter, simpler, Christmas. I really appreciate your use of the word deliberate. I just finished reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and was captivated by the main character's attempt to be deliberate in remembering every moment of the day War was declared, from the grain of the wood on her desk to the color of her lipstick...she wanted to LIVE the moment so that she wouldn't forget exactly how she felt at that moment. Very descriptive! It made an impression on me.
I've actually been happy to have a week after Thanksgiving before Advent starts. Not that I've done a great job of planning and getting organized with it yet, but still, it's good to recover from our travels before I get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.
The daily, sometimes hourly, musings of a homeschooling mom of four surviving on prayer, friendship and lots of Starbucks. Some days my cup runs over and some days it all spills out the cracks...and I wouldn't have it any other way.
