This is a guest post from one of my very favorite people and bloggers in the world, Mary from Giving Up on Perfect. After reading this post, you might wanna click over to her blog because she’s hosting a big Christmas shindig with prizes!
source: theogeo
When I left my full-time job to stay home with my daughter, I started a tradition of seasonal bucket lists. Each time a new season rolled around, I’d scour the internet for ways to have fun with my family. From local event calendars to the ever-helpful Pinterest, I’d take notes of all the projects, field trips and activities we could possibly fit into the next three months.
Then I’d sit down with my daughter, and together we’d pick out our favorites. I’d type them into a cute list and stick it on the fridge . . . where it would stare us down, demanding to be crossed off and judging us when we couldn’t meet every seasonal or holiday goal.
See, while I said those lists were guidelines for family fun, something I was doing FOR THEM . . . that wasn’t really the whole truth. As a Type A, perfectionist list-maker, those bucket lists were a measuring stick, a way for me to see – on paper and everything – just how good a mom I’d been in a season.
When I put it that way, it sounds so ridiculous. But honestly, it took me several seasons to realize I was going about event planning, goal setting and family fun in a the wrong way. I was talking with my husband recently, and I noted that there’s simply no season that’s NOT crazy busy and overwhelming for most people.
Summertime is supposed to be full of beach reads and relaxation, but really? We cram those steamy months with summer school, family vacations, field trips and home repairs. And fall, well, fall is full of back to school and getting back into extracurricular activities and apple picking and baking and wow, how did the holidays get here so fast? And of course, winter and spring have their own busy-ness, meaning we’re left with no margin, no breathing room, no time to just BE.
Adding a mandatory list of “fun” activities on top of all that really just drove me – and my family – a little crazy. So just like I call myself a recovering perfectionist, I’m also now a reformed bucket list-maker.
Sure, we still make what my daughter calls our “fun lists.” But now, rather than being a strict schedule and to-do list that stresses us out, it’s simply a piece of paper with a few general plans and ideas we might – or might not – get around to this year. And this year’s holiday list might be even shorter than ever. I’m working part-time and nearly eight months pregnant, plus my daughter is now in kindergarten (which shouldn’t be THAT different from preschool but oh, IT IS).
As we head into the holidays (one of the busiest seasons of the entire, busy year), my family will sit down and look at our calendar. We’ll plan our extended family get-togethers for Thanksgiving and Christmas, add in a birthday date for my husband and me, and brainstorm ways to celebrate the season and continue our traditions together.
But, despite my desire to DO ALL THE THINGS, we’ll keep that list of celebrations and traditions short this time.
Pack a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child.
Get back in the routine of writing in our gratitude journal.
Bake something pumpkin together.
Go see Christmas lights.
Watch a Christmas movie together.
Decorate the house for Christmas.
Host a small open house for church friends.
Follow Truth in the Tinsel through Advent.
Would I love to bake candy cane-shaped cookies and sign up to ring the Salvation Army bell and make ornaments for our tree (and, oh yeah, buy a new tree)? Sure. Just like I wish I could fit in (or afford) trips to see Handel’s Messiah, The Nutcracker Suite and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. And I’d so love to host a grown-up New Year’s Eve party and commit to performing 25 acts of kindness during December.
But for now, simple and sweet trumps busy and bothered by a mile. And even Pinterest can’t convince me otherwise.
How do YOU keep your holidays (or other seasons) from getting overly busy?
Mary Carver is a writer, blogger, church planter, wife and mom. A recovering perfectionist, Mary writes with honesty and humor about her imperfect life at www.givinguponperfect.com. Her posts about everything from dieting and housekeeping to parenting and faith encourage other women to give up on perfect and get on with life. She also writes for (in)courage and is the author of Plan a Fabulous Party {without losing your mind}. And this month, she’s giving away this great resource for FREE! Simply join the Giving Up on Perfect community on Facebook, and it’s all yours!
