A very merry time
The holiday season is always a whirlwind of activity in our home. Add the daily life stuff, and I’ve often found myself overwhelmed. As a mother, you want it all to be perfect for your children. You spend too much, craft too much, and expend endless amounts of energy. You’re not just “Mom”. You wear many hats all year long, but Christmas is crunch time! You’re the baker, the wrapper, the decorator, etc. The list is a mile long. Then, there’s the other hat. “Santa”.
I think every mother should be awarded a spa day after the holidays. Pay attention, Dad! Every single year, and it never fails, I hear out of my wonderful husband’s mouth “I hate wrapping presents!” And the ever famous “I don’t wanna wear that sweater!” Suck it up, Scrooge. (Joking! Kinda..)
Anyways, if your home is like mine, the “Santa” hat lands on the mother. After copious amounts of eye rolls on my end, I end up sucking it up and hit the ground running.
Usually. This year was different.
As most of my followers know, we had a loss this year. We lost the matriarch, the glue of our family. Nothing has felt the same. We have all struggled in our own ways to go through that process. Grief is horrific. When you’re as close to someone as I was to my Grandmother, it completely takes the wind out of your sails. Your world goes grey.
Coping with the loss is almost manageable some days. Other days, you hide in your office and bawl like a baby while holding her photo. You lament over what could have been.
Then the holidays come. You’ve got a job to do. You continue to hide your tears and the occasional breakdowns, and you pull up your big girl panties and get to work. You set up the tree. You don the silly Santa hats, you blast the Christmas music and bake the cookies until your children BELIEVE in the magic of Christmas for another year.
In mid-November I had a life changing surgery. I had a full disc replacement in my neck. The recovery has been extremely hard, but it was also my only option after living with severe nerve pain and debilitating neck pain for nearly 3 years.
Because of that, I was forced to slow down. I put my business on hold, stopped construction on the studio, and have been concentrating on the healing process. I set up Christmas before my surgery. You heard that right. We’re talking early November people. Mama ain’t playing around!
I did my job, wore that hat. It was 6 weeks on Monday. I was able to wrap the presents and bake the cookies, but I still took it slow. And you know what? This year didn’t feel rushed. I didn’t stress about it. I may not be feeling festive, quite the opposite, in fact, but I did what is expected of me, just in a new kind of way. And it turned out fine. All is merry and bright in his little world.
Life is going to throw mean curve balls your way. One big lesson I’ve learned this year is that slowing down is absolutely a necessity. Hug a little longer. Say “I love you” more, and breathe. We get one trip through this life. Spend the time with a thankful heart. Think of others and enjoy the little things.
Merry Christmas from this “Santa” to another.
