Thursday, November 20, 2008

One Week Until the BEST Day of the Year!

Ok, so I've been doing some reflecting this morning. In doing so, I re-read this whole blog. Good lord people, are all of your lives as insane as mine has seemed to have been this summer and fall? When I occasionally mentioned feeling like I was on a roller coaster, that was no joke. Fortunately, the key to making the ride stop (or, at least slow way down and skip the big hills and drops) seems to have been a secure job situation. I am wrapping up my part time position this week, taking the week of Thanksgiving off, then starting my new full-time job Monday, Dec. 1. As I mentioned earlier, I am ready. In the meantime, I have continued to get myself more organized, and continue to feel the great benefit of the results. (Of course, I read in my blog that I've gotten to this point before, then not finished and/or maintained it, so keep on, soldier!)

Friday my awesome sweet mother-in-law comes to town, and we are taking her to the beach house for a long weekend. I plan to work out, chill, get my computer and email files organized, finish refiling the rest of my recipe pile into the desserts section of my cookbook, and relax, relax, RELAX!! Then we get to come back and it will be Thanksgiving. For those of you who don't know me as well, Thanksgiving is hands-down my VERY FAVORITE day of the whole year, and yes, that includes trumping Christmas. Don't get me wrong, gifts are wonderful, the extended season of music and twinkly decorations is a good way to plow through some of the shortest and therefore darkest days of the year (Dec. 20 is the shortest day, the day after which the days start to get longer again) and the spirit of love and cheer is great. But, for whatever reason, for me personally, Thanksgiving edges it out. I love the gathering of our family and occasionally other people we warmly include, I love the food traditions, I love that there is football to watch as part of it, I love that it is right in the throes of fall and not into winter yet, and I love that all of the happiness and warm cheer does not have anything to do with material presents. Less stress for everyone, and I think more people travel to their families for this than for Christmas. I am grateful and blessed to live near my immediate family, and to still live in the area that I call "home." I also enjoy the fact that immediately after, the Christmas season starts, and we usually take advantage of the long weekend to get our tree set up and start decorating. (A note to you super-early Christmas people- the Christmas season does NOT start until Santa comes out at the end of the Macy's parade on Thanksgiving morning, dang it!!)

Anyway, I am hoping that over the next week and a half, I will continue to reach the FINISHING point of getting organized so I can more easily keep up with it and relieve more of my mental clutter, thereby helping me survive the transition to full time. I hope to truly live the next two weekends and all the days in between in the moment, enjoying the break fully, and restore that trend to carry forward in my life. Living that way into my job transition and through the Christmas season would also be an important achievement.

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