Tripping Over Typeset

Have you ever lived in a state of schedule overload? The last 2 weeks have been that for me.

I was discussing this whole idea with my Canadian mother-in-law and she pointed out the insanity of our American system.

We celebrate Thanksgiving so late in November that we run right into Christmas with no break or breath in-between.

With shopping, parties, decorating and baking, we continually add to our schedule without taking anything away.

How many times do we pile on without thinking through our commitments? We say ‘yes’ to others, and in saying ‘yes’ we say ‘no’ to our sanity.

I am guilty of this many times over. At times, I think I’m doing well with scheduling and clearing my plate but then I notice I have extra time, and through my own doing, I fill my plate once more.

This is the reason I haven’t written here. Through my own doing, I filled my schedule to overflowing and with needing some down time, this blog was the first thing to go.

This morning I ran to the window like a little kid, tore open the curtains and whispered, “Yay…. a snow day!”

I have needed a day where the weather and the buried van in the driveway is my all-around excuse for staying put and catching up.

It’s amazing how fast a house can go downhill when all we do is go in and out again.

Even Emily asked last night, “What did we have for dinner last night?”

I answered, “We ate at the Pastor’s Christmas party.”

She asked, “When was the last time we ate a real home-cooked meal?”

And my honest reply was, “I don’t know!”

And that, friends, is a sad state of affairs.

Of course, after thinking about it, our last dinner home wasn’t that long ago, yet the sentiment was ringing true… we were running in too many directions.

So last night I cooked one of our family’s favorite dinners and sat quiet for the night, not rushing anywhere… not running here or there.

Today with the snow still piling outside, we are gladly staying put and enjoying another home-cooked meal. We need it and we all function better when we get our home time.

I’d like to hear from you.

• How do you handle the holidays and all the extra scheduled parties and commitments?
• What changes or adjustments do you make to your home and normal schedule to make room for the extra of the holidays?

I’d love to hear your suggestions and practical ideas for handling the extra of the holiday hustle.

Together, maybe we can tackle some holiday craziness and clear a path for some holiday rest.