The holiday calendar is already filling up. My low-level stress is brewing. You know the kind. It’s the pre-stress stress that brews out of an awareness of all that is going to happen even though it hasn’t happened yet. I keep thinking of the long list of to-do’s and to-want-to-do’s that begin right after Thanksgiving and I can’t help but feel this pang inside to just say no and stay home this December.
What will happen if we just decide to skip every party that isn’t a family gathering? After all, my family is home to me.
What will happen if for the month of December I have Instacart deliver my groceries or commit to a Kroger pick-up so I don’t get sucked into impulse buying random things we don’t need?
What if I shop for every single gift online, including wrapping paper and bags, so I can instead spend my time snuggling with my family watching more Christmas movies and sipping more hot chocolate?
What if I sign up for napkins or buy premade cookies for the school party?
What if we just write a letter to Santa and mail it instead of waiting in those long mall lines and instead, spend our time walking through our neighborhood to look at all of the pretty lights?
What if we make cookies, order pizza, and kick back with our slippers by the fireplace instead of hosting or attending the big annual cookie exchange?
What if we all just stay home this December and if we do decide to venture out, it will be to go to the local Santa parade or to drop off a huge care package to a sick neighbor or take our kids to shop only for the families on the Angel Tree.
Let’s remember not to lose focus on what matters more than anything in the world – the precious people in our homes. So this December, I think I’ll be staying home, what about you?
I love this! Our time is precious.