Settle down!

Goodness, life spiraled out of control. As we drove through a Lake Effect snowstorm to get home from the airport the Saturday after Thanksgiving, it would become a harbinger of things to come. It ended up snowing for five of the next six days. The stress of the drive and then the physical demands of snow removal when we got about two feet of snow and have a 120-foot long driveway became a bit overwhelming. It literally took over a week – until this past Sunday evening – for life to finally settle down again. Honestly? I feel like I haven’t sat down in over a week.

Today, however, life is a bit more calm. I’ve already done the work I need to do today professionally. After cleaning intensely so we could put up our tree yesterday and making enough food to have leftovers tonight, the household demands around here are pretty light today as well. Left on my list? I need to do Christmas cards, run to the grocery and make a vet appointment for one of my cats. Other than that? My entire being is focused on calming our lives down. It’s time for some silent nights.

Truth be told, it always gets crazy for at least one week of the holiday season. I really don’t know why I’m not better prepared for it. But there is always a confluence of things that all need to be done at the same time. If it’s not shoveling for days, it’s something else. Either we’re going to New Orleans, we have a big family event, we spend days at the emergency vet or doing emergency repairs or some other big disruption that throws my carefully curated calm Christmas out the window. (And let’s just pause here for that great alliteration I just pulled off. 😊)

Now that the crazy is over, I am determined to keep it that way. Honestly? We are due for a quiet and wonderful holiday this year. We haven’t had a truly calm Christmas since we lost my mom six years ago. Right now, there doesn’t seem like much that could disrupt it and I am determined beyond words. The tree is up, there is no appreciable snow in the forecast for the next 15 days and everyone has been taken care of. I do have a couple of gifts left to buy for Darryl but other than that? Well, we ordered the cats’ Christmas gifts last night and even the wine fridge is stocked.

And now, it’s time for those silent nights I hear so much about. Most of it, I have discovered over the years, is really about state of mind. If I’m all worked up then it feels like life is all out of control and the holiday is going to whiz by me without the sense of relief I desperately need. But if I slow my mind down? Well, honestly, miracles happen. Me slowing down means I focus on the things that create the mood – the soft lights, the well-prepared meal with a clean kitchen, the house picked up by 4 p.m. so that as darkness falls, the obligations of the day go away. And when I do that? I notice that all of the other heartbeats in this house follow me as if directed. From hubby to the newest rescue, everyone seems to take their queue from me. This holiday? We are all about keeping it calm – again.

And that will be what creates a soft and sweet Noel. That is what this whole little family needs. It’s why I took a three-month sabbatical and why I stress over every single detail of our holiday decorations. This year, I genuinely feel like I can make the holiday of my dreams happen. Everyone is healthy and renovations are at a point where we really can’t have any major surprises. With my husband off for 12 straight days, Christmas largely bought and paid for, some wonderful activities where I wrap and bake with my sisters and nieces, my nephew coming home for Christmas and the craziness truly now behind me, I am really all about the calm and quiet… finally.

It starts today and life already feels just a little bit different. I hope for everyone who needs it that they get the same calm and quiet. That the sparkle of the lights on the tree or the glow of the candle on the Menorah or however they celebrate over the season and the New Year, that there is peace. Even if it’s just for five minutes, my prayer is that each person gets that tiny little bit of calm deep in their soul. I am about to celebrate the last four weeks of my sabbatical and I am going to fight as hard as I can to keep those weeks as calm, quiet and warm as humanly possible.