I “decided” to take a holiday hiatus. It wasn’t really planned, but just sort of happened! Now that the family has left and the after-Christmas calm is settling in, I thought I’d sneak in a post before I return to my unscheduled break.
This year we were fortunate to be able to spend Christmas with our whole family! This is a rare occurrence with us being a military family, and most of the “kids” grown and having kids of our own. This is 2 generations of cousins!
It was a great time with great food and lots of fun! I love enjoying the holidays through my kids’ perspectives. It’s all so new to them and watching them watch it all unfold is magic. The anticipation of the entire month nearly did Jacob in. He made it though, as did Hannah, and their holiday hopes were granted. And now it’s all over. (We say over because New Year’s eve isn’t the hoopla it was pre-kids. Let’s face it – we’re parents and if we stayed up for New Year’s eve, the 1st at our place would be a grouchy tired mess!)
While it was so much fun celebrating, is it weird that a part of me actually enjoys taking it all down, the quiet resolution of another holiday having past, and the breath of fresh air of getting things back to normal? Some find it sad to have it all over, even Hannah lamented she “hates that Christmas is over!” I don’t. I love Christmas, the build up and anticipation – all the festivus activities. But I really do love the calm and the return of normal routines!
With that return of normal, my husband just made my year! We stripped all the beds, did laundry like it was our job, shampooed carpets, Hannah scrubbed toilets, and my hubs scoured the kitchen – like pulled appliances out, vacuumed behind, took the burners off the stove, – you get the idea. It was deep spring cleaning in winter at my house. I helped a bit, taking down the tree, putting all the Christmas decorations away, purging the broken ornaments that couldn’t be glued together anymore, but mostly my other half did the work. Hannah and I fell asleep. For three hours.
When we woke up and came downstairs, I was delighted to see our house transformed: to the cleanest version of normal since we moved in! Perhaps it makes me a tad obsessive compulsive that a clean house excites me to the point of spending almost an entire post about it, but clean = calm and peace in my mind and spirit. I can think clearly, I can give freely, and enjoy my kids more fully when our home is in order.
I love Christmas. I love celebrating the season with my family. And I love the return of normal. What about you? Do you like the return of routine, or is it melancholy when it’s all over?
Lori's Life and Other Stuff 