Life has been a bit stressful lately but I am determined to keep the joy in Christmas. I almost let my joy be taken away from me last week but I rallied and changed the direction and I am happy to say I have my joy back. I bet I am not alone in struggling with keeping all things joyful this December.
We are assaulted on all sides by so many different things that threaten to steal our joy and the busyness of this time of year always seems to weigh on me. There are always so many things to do and I think it creeps up on me and I tend to think that I have to do it all.
Well, guess what? I don’t and I won’t!
My problem this year has been dreading this week because Chris and I are in Alabama spending our last week in the house we have been renting. That means we have to do something with all of the furniture and household belongings that we collected. What that means is packing up (again) and renting a Uhaul to tote those items back to Brevard. Well, we are going to do it. Friday is the day. The house in Brevard is kind of a mess as we were moving beds and other furniture around in anticipation of this weekend.
To say I am tired of this whole moving and feeling unsettled thing would be an understatement. I did not realize how stressed out I was about this whole thing until the other day and I realized that it was seriously taking my joy away. So I had a stern talk with myself and decided that that was going to be the end of that. After all, this is my favorite time of the year and I love all that comes with Christmas. So doggone it, I am going to enjoy it.
So my strategy is to just get through this week, enjoy the time in Dothan, enjoy the Christmas party with Chris’s people, get the house packed and ready to go and just do it. Kind of like Nike I am just going to do it.
If the Christmas cards go out after Christmas it is no big deal. If the presents don’t get mailed until next week so be it. If the house is a bit dirty I can live with it.
What I can’t live with is allowing myself to get sucked into the feeling that I am overwhelmed and can’t pull myself out of that feeling. That is not what Christmas should be about.
So today be joyful. If you have allowed the busyness of the season to overtake you I suggest you step back and take a deep breath and evaluate what you can cut out to make the season a bit more joyful. Everything does not have to be perfect. Note to self: You do not have to make 15 different kinds of cookies this year.
Of course watching goats singing Christmas songs always gives me joy. I hope it does the same for you
