Does it seem to you that we're dashing through the holidays? Or, as I've muttered a few times since early October, galloping toward Christmas?
As a minimalist and an introvert who also has anxiety issues - yay! - I can get overwhelmed this time of year. Although this feeling doesn't usually pop up until December, it already happened once, last week, when I hit a proverbial wall.
With my heart beating like a hammer, I realized I couldn't do everything on the Thanksgiving week list. So I had to skip two events. I was fortunate to attend several others, cook for and spend time with loved ones (but not all extended family, because even though it looks like there's more than plenty of me, I could not spread myself that thin), and do some necessary but not-so-fun things like go to doctor appointments with a friend, and learn from my son how to change out a toilet handle lever. (I am that widow whose husband always did such stuff for her. And really, since my son was the teacher, it did turn out to be fun. Even though we had to wade through Black Friday shoppers to buy the piece we needed. But I digress.)
Back to the galloping...
Here are a few things - alphabetized, of course - that you and/or I may be doing this month:
Baking
Basketball games
Carolling
Church - attending, decorating, participating, singing, serving
Christmas parade
Choir concert
Cooking and serving meals at home
Decorating indoors
Decorating outdoors
Madrigal dinner and concert
Orchestra concert
Parties
Pitch-in meals - preparing for, attending, eating, cleaning up after
Romances - reading
Shopping for gifts
Shopping for groceries
Shopping for more groceries (tell me I'm not the only one who forgets things and has to go back)
Shopping for something to wear to parties (see above)
Songs, holiday - singing along with, remembering wrong, singing louder to cover up error
Theater productions, professional or amateur - preparing or attending
Videos, seasonal - bingeing
Visiting Santa
Wrapping gifts
Writing - Christmas letters, Christmas novels, beach reads, blogs...
Do you get overwhelmed during the holidays?
I'm sure I haven't listed everything. No way could I have cobbled together a complete list. And yet, this incomplete one is pretty darn long. What are some things on your Priority-Do-Not-Miss List?
Are you like me, and occasionally have to step back and reassess? If so, what helps you create a more peaceful season?
Magdalena Scott
https://magdalenascott.com/