Holidays

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 I started packing away the Christmas decorations today.  Anybody else?  Because I singularly take them out and set them up on whichever day I decide as the holiday begins (after Thanksgiving at my house)....it is also up to me to decide when to take them down.  I have never waited long enough for the people in my family to wonder out loud why they are still up.  Typically it happens around New Years holiday.  So I started today but I always pack them away in a certain order.  First I pack away everything that looks like Santa/Christmas tree/ stockings/ Merry Christmas.  We have a fresh tree from the tree farm so I leave that up and decorated as long as possible.....something about the twinkly lights is so lovely when it is dark for more that 12 hours a day.  Most years our city garbage service will pick them up the week after Christmas but Roger read somewhere they aren't doing that anymore so I may just leave it up until it starts to look dead and then throw it in the back yard til spring.  I also leave out the nativity.....and I have a version of it in most of the rooms of my home so that often stays out until February.  

By February I'm ready to pack the rest away for another year.....and replace the Christmas with valentines kinds of things.  ;)   

Holidays.  I love them.  I know not everyone does but I most certainly do.  I love the planning and the expectation.  I love the ceremony and the tradition of doing things a similar way every year.  I love the rhythm of the seasons and the predictability of Holiday...it matters to me.  

Tomorrow is New year's Eve and then New Years Day.  I love this holiday as well!  We don't have big parties or gatherings....we live in a sleepy farm community and if you have a friend group or a card club, maybe you do a party but if not, or if you have a long succession of children and no childcare options as we do, you do less party planning. One year when the big kids were small we pretended we were all invited to the party at our home and they ran from the back door to the front door with a grocery bag full of snacks and drinks.  They rang the doorbell and I welcomed them in to our "party" just for fun.  

The Old Years tradition of looking back appeals to me this year.  I hope to scroll through my photos and maybe my calender and notice and hold space for all that we were and all that we did in 2022.  I also hope to get caught up on laundry and clean and organize Precious and Josiah's rooms.  They got new comfortors for Christmas so it would be fun to spiff up their spaces for a fresh start in a new year.  I'm wondering and waiting to see if the Lord wants to give me a word (literally) for the new year.  It seems like a silly tradition but it is free and harmless and actually serves as a connecting point as the year marches forward....the top contenders so far seem to be "anchor" and "awareness"....will see what tomorrow unveils.  There are always the same "new years resolutions" that are cliche but true which makes them cliche by definition.....

I'm curious about a new tradition for New Years Day.  I'm interested in starting something.....not sure what it will be yet but something that is unique to New years Day.  If anyone out there has ideas or traditions to share, please do.  I would ask my family but I'm guessing it will follow in line with the decorations for holidays and be whatever I decide to do.  

My New Years Ideas:  

Hike at a state park (cool idea but nearest one is an hour away and noone in my family likes fresh air or cold....except Jeremiah and that's only if he is snowboarding....and I'm sure he will be sleeping in on New Years Day.

Write out prayer requests in a prayer jar and pray for them....we may start that but honestly it probably won't last to January 2.

Cook a good meal on New Years Day and hope my kids will all come.  but seriously, how is that different from any other day?

Cook or bake for someone else and deliver a meal to them.  Force the kids to help.  Pressure them to experience generosity and hospitality and gift-giving.  (do I really want to start the year with that much hassle?)

Light the fireplace, read, listen to music, and maybe walk the dogs.

Go to church since New Years falls on Sunday this year....reheat leftovers from the week of cooking....take a nap.....yawn and stretch and watch a movie.

Turn the page on all the calenders.  See January.  Wonder at what January has planned and be ready to jump in.  

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