My friend Sarah sent me the link to this coupon clipping lady's post on Starbucks! They are offering some yummy free drinks these next couple weeks! Who doesn't like a yummy warm beverage while sitting in the carpool lane, showing up on a bitter cold morning at work, or popping over to a friends house for a play date. Or just imagine...escaping the throws of mommy life to wander the mall at a leisurely pace, taking in the holiday shuffle, without any little helpers who are begging for a snack or needing you to yank them from a store in tears because they REALLY HAVE TO HAVE a certain toy. Instead, you balance a White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha in one hand while slipping a scarf that is 40% off in the cart for yourself - because....tis the season to indulge...at least that is what my Grandma Dort would say.
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This time of year can get so overwhelming with the amount of commitments and fun stuff going on.Holiday parades, program and pageants, Christmas cookie baking, shopping, wrapping, and decorating, spur of the moment holiday happy hours after work, cookie exchanges, work dinner parties, the normal day to day responsibilities slowed down by bitterly cold temperatures or falling snow, and the list goes on.
Once again Clover Lane posts some wisdom that makes me feel better about all the things I have said no to, yes to, or am contemplating my RSVP. It is so important to enjoy this time of year with friends and family - but I think sometimes it is so easy to get wrapped up in the other people's desires that you lose focus of what works and is do-able for your family. And I am determined to sit with a cup of cocoa, with the Christmas lights sparkling, feeling this baby kick, while listening to my boys putter with whatever...a little more this season.
Here is just a bit from Clover Lane's recent post:
"Here's what I want to tell my younger self, and all of you who may be experiencing the same struggles I did:
1. Whether you have one child, or two, or five, remember that their are times and seasons of your life, where you are "allowed" to step back and just survive day to day without adding more to your plate.
2. Be confident in having the knowledge that only you and you alone can decide when your family can handle any extra commitments.
3. Learn to say no without guilt. Offer to do what you can do easily...that means with no stress.
4. Don't compare yourself with others. What one person seems to handle with ease (notice the "seems" part), is maybe not what you can handle. We all have different talents, and we all have different stresses and thresholds. We also all have different support systems behind the scenes.
5. Be kind to yourself and in spite of what the world tells us all today, do not underestimate how much work it is to be a mom, just by itself, without all the extra things we feel pressured to do today."
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My friend Jessie recently shared a favorite blog of hers called the Organizing Junkie. I found this post about Time Management to be slightly inspiring. I say slightly because let's be honest...we drive home from work, or approach the bewitching hour after being with our kids all day and have this vision of getting all the home stuff done, eating a healthy dinner with the family, and engaging in some precious time with our little ones. But moods don't flow smoothly. There is too much on the list that we get overwhelmed. By the end of the day we are tired and snappy....I could go on. And I do, with my sister on a daily basis via email, as we attempt to figure out how we are going to conquer the notorious chaotic evening. So I say this article is slightly inspiring because I read it nodding my head and saying, yes! but in reality, I will ponder those thoughts but return to the same old same old momentarily. Happy Wednesday evening!
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