We are trudging up a hill, mud on our boots, wind whipping our faces scanning to our left and right for THE tree. Tall, but not too tall, and skinny, so it fits snug in the corner of our living room. An Allen Iverson tree basketball fans. Luke runs ahead with Daddy as Lily and Jude stay close to me. Fifteen minutes later we are still walking uphill (how?), still searching, boots now covered in layers of thick oozy mud, cheeks rosy.
It’s dusk and Daddy and I are starting to get a bit nervous we won’t find this tree before we can find our way back to the cozy Christmas tree barn. And then it stares us in the face right as Jude plunges into the grass and mud, fortunately not face first. He comes up covered, but smiling. We wait and wait and wait for someone to come help us cut it down, but there are other families looking for their perfect tree, too, and so we wait some more. The kids run circles, ‘try’ and stay out of the mud, pretend to cut the tree down with their orange and white chainsaw. As my frustration grows, I look at Jude covered from toe to neck in mud and can’t help but grin.
We may not eat dinner until bedtime and we may stay up way too late decorating the tree, but the tradition, the experience of marching through the slushy mud to get our tree is not one I’ll soon forget. And I have a feeling it will live on in my kids’ memories as well. They may not remember the mud or the cold or the forever waiting, all of that will fall away. They will remember the tradition of the search for the perfect tree and then the reward of hot cocoa and a cookie in the barn.
This season can be full and chaotic and lovely and magical and sometimes just incredibly overwhelming. There are times (many times) this season I will have to look at the beautiful chaos and choose: grin or cry. And I hope I choose to grin. These next few weeks only come around once a year and I want to enjoy them, savor them. I’ve come up with a few practical ways I am going to try and do just that.
Relinquish the Perfect Picture
Friends, we didn’t get a family picture at the tree farm this year. The only reason I put make up on and did my hair was for a family picture, but we didn’t get it. And I was totally okay with it. Not losing my patience was more important to me than asking my kids to smile (again) while the chainsaw guy took our picture. I got plenty of pictures of the kids, but none with all of us. And we are all okay.
Get Outside
A few weeks back we had a ‘snow day’ at our place. We got loads of snow that needed moved and played in. I bundled the kids up and sent them out with their Dad, anticipating an hour of quiet. And then I saw Lily making snow angels and I just couldn’t stay inside. I put on a heavy pair of socks, my scarf and hat, and went to join in the fun. I took lots of pictures and was able to experience their fun firsthand instead of hearing the stories after.
I am a girl who loves to be warm, so getting outside when it’s below freezing is not my idea of a good time. But, I never regret it. Even if it’s for five or ten minutes, it still helps. There is something about fresh air that always gives me a new perspective.
Sit
These days I find myself bustling around, trying to be productive. I am on my feet most of the day and when my body hits the couch after the kids are in bed I sometimes realize it’s one of the first times I have sat down all day. Any Mommas relate? I am going to try and sit more through out the day. (Motherhood has a built in standing desk.) Sit and play with my kids by the Christmas tree. Sit and eat lunch. Sit and read a stack of Christmas books on the couch. Sit and watch a Christmas movie or send a text or read a book. It sounds simple, but it has become something I need to do intentionally throughout the day during this full season.
Enjoy the Lights
Christmas lights make me extremely happy. The twinkle, the sparkle, the coziness. They just do something for me. When I find time to sit or have a free minute, I gaze at the lights. Sounds a little cooky, but it brings me back to the reason we decorate and gift and bake. I layered lights around the house for a purpose, to make our home feel like Christmas and I try to enjoy them every minute I can.
Maybe it’s not lights for you, but a cozy blanket, a mug of hot cocoa, gazing at your tree or the fire. Whatever makes this time of year feel like Christmas, try and do that as much as possible.
Savor
The definition of savor is to: enjoy something completely. I want to do that more this December. I want to look around and drink it in: all the beautiful ornaments and twinkly lights and yummy treats. I want to take notice of the blow up yard decorations on our way to church on Wednesday nights and smile at the Salvation Army bell ringer and read The Polar Express and Gingerbread Baby to my kids over and over again. I want to refuse the overwhelm and embrace the magical.
For me, savoring means I must try for A Simpler Christmas, one where my main goal is to enjoy this season with the ones I love while remembering the birth of our Savior. Embracing that goal above all else is how I will savor this Christmas.
How will you enjoy the season this year?