Wow, we are well under two weeks before Christmas and I'm delighted to share that my Christmas tree is UP and the house is decorated. Psh. Piece of cake. Got it done on Wednesday...plenty of time to spare.
You know, there are some years that we get everything decorated on Thanksgiving weekend. This. was obviously not one of them. The weekends have been busy and our first opportunity to go get our real, live tree from Home Depot was literally Tuesday night. It felt so LATE in the season and I had to fight a little bit of panic.... and then I remembered to stop. Breathe. Relax. Take joy. Let go.
Does it really matter that the rest of the country (at least the people with Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter accounts) had their decorating done for weeks? Does it make MY Christmas any less special that my neighbors' houses rival Clark Griswald's?
Of course not.
That's not what this season is about, silly.
Christmas is about the Savior, not Santa.
It's about the Giver, not gifts.
It's about the Light of the world, not light extravaganzas.
It's about the family, not the frantic.
It is about Peace on Earth, and Joy to the World.
I remembered that this week, when my tree didn't get put up when I thought it "should" have.
This year, the busyness of this season has made me start eliminating some things in order to lighten the load. The shortness of time means I'm not over-decorating the house or over-thinking gifts or overloading on Amazon...and in a strange way, I'm grateful. I'm having to choose how to use my time and energy, rather than spin my wheels trying to do "EVERYTHING."
"Everything" is just not possible...and there is great freedom in that.
For Today's Small Thing, let go of thinking you have to do "everything," and focus on the few things that really matter.
How about you? Are you starting to eliminate some "should do" activities and tasks from your calendar in order to make time for what's important? I'd love to hear.
Want to link up for Company Girl Coffee? Share what you're eliminating, and what you're DOING to make this Christmas special. Or simply share whatever's on your mind.
Song of the Day: Silent Night, Josh Groban
