It’s a cold, wet miserable day. It’s also the first of five days off. I’ll take it. No, my outdoor decorations are not getting done today – I still have tomorrow, if I’m so inclined. Plus, I can finally finish getting our little homestead ready for Thanksgiving. Outside of my office, the house is cleaned. I need to put the winter linens on my guest bedroom and the house will be put back together. Then? Well, I do need to make both homemade cranberry and apple sauce today along with roasting a duck for turducken gumbo. But otherwise, the day is mine.
In a few minutes, said duck is going in the oven and then I am heading out for the final pet store, grocery run and decorating supplies for the holiday. Darryl is hustling through a final day of work for the week and when he’s done, this little family is shutting it down. With our Thanksgiving happening on Friday this year, we have an extra day to make the holiday happen. And while an extra day may not seem like a lot, I’m here to testify that it does. Instead of cramming pie making, food prep and outdoor decorations (even in the rain) today, I can shove them into tomorrow, making today much easier.
And so, it’s time again to pause. My home has never looked more festive and I’m thrilled. Now that the downstairs is 95% complete, my original, “ski-lodge-esque” vision has come to life. It’s not everyone’s idea of home, but it’s mine.
Now, to set the theme for the season.
This year, I have really wanted to embrace the concept of simple peace for the holidays. In years past, the holidays have gotten a little sideways, a little too exuberant and a whole lot out of control. This year? Not so much. I’m reelin’ it in and tonin’ it down.
First on my simple peace holiday plan? I have committed to buying nothing new outside of the perishable things I typically buy for Christmas such as the tree and some pine boughs. Yep, keeping it simple and using what I have. Over the years, I’ve collected things that mean a lot to me, Darryl or us. Gifts from others, things I purchased myself and we have enjoyed, etc. This year, those decorations are enough. I don’t need to re-buy, re-trend, re-do anything. Not only is this more economical and less wasteful, it’s more calm. No additional stimulus is coming into the house. Just what we already have.
The second strategy for my simple peace? Keeping evenings calm. Darryl hasn’t had time off since Ironman. We have been working on weekends finishing up our to-do list of projects. My one rule about the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is that we shut down and shut out all other noise and just focus on family, home and enjoying our times together. And if I didn’t say that plainly enough, what I really mean: no construction materials in the living space of the house. The ladders get put away for Thanksgiving. Enough said. While Darryl chafes just a tiny bit at that, it’s half-hearted at best. I get it: he doesn’t want to admit it, but the calm and quiet is pretty cool even if there is work that could be done.
Then, there is the final strategy I use for a simple peace holiday: quiet time alone. Even though this one seems pretty individualistic, it does benefit the whole family. If I don’t get quiet time, I get wound up. I’m terribly excitable. So, as we shift into the holidays, I make sure I have plenty of individual down time. It helps that I can wind up work pretty easily and early in December, which allows me to slow life down. But it’s also a commitment I have to make. Over the years, I’ve learned that if I slow down and pause everyday to just think – even if it’s only for five minutes – about how special this time of the year is and how much I am enjoying it, I become that person for the holidays that I want to be: content, calm, enjoyable and the anchor for this little family’s holiday.
So now, with my floors swept and mopped, my surfaces gleaming, my bathrooms sparkling and a duck about to go into the oven, I am overwhelmed by a feeling of thankfulness. This has been an incredible year of great successes and great lifetime milestones with Ironmans and weddings and new homes. But, just like the fallow garden or the grass that has stopped growing, it’s time to rest and reflect.
Happy Thanksgiving, all. From my little family to yours, we wish you all the best!
The Yuppie Homesteader 