Reflections on December

Photo credit: http://yankee-in-belgrade.blogspot.ca

December has knocked me on my a$$ this year, leaving me feeling like I'm WAY behind and VERY stressed and COMPLETELY unprepared.  In my books, that is exactly what Christmas is NOT.  So, I've decided that I'm just going to just stop stressing and enjoy the season.  After a mini-meltdown  major meltdown and tears last week, I'm now feeling rather relaxed (mostly because I got the majority of my cleaning done this weekend), all my sewing deadlines have passed, and I've decided I'm not going to stress about the knitting deadlines (yeah, some are getting wrapped up yarn and the promise of a completed pair of socks).

Speaking of sewing deadlines, I ended up having problems with my dress for the Christmas party, so I went with my backup plan - I just couldn't get the straps to sit right!!  They were fine if I didn't move, but any movement shifted them and they bunched inwards towards my neck.  I refuse to go out in something I'm constantly fiddling with.  I haven't yet thrown the dress into the wadder pile, I'm convinced I can fix it but I need some dedicated sewing time. I ended up wearing a dress I made this past summer for a wedding and had a great time at our party.

I have already celebrated Christmas dinner/gifts/etc. with my girls and my son-in-law, which was great as always.  The remaining gifts are all done/purchased/made (with the exception of the aforementioned yarn), and need to be wrapped.  Tonight's  plan is to run a few errands (thanks to an errant daughter - see what I did there??!! LOL - who doesn't have the sense to get things done well in advance of the crowds hitting the stores) then head down to L'Atelier (aka the sewing room in the basement) to clean and tidy because it doubles as my spare spare room where company will be sleeping over the holidays.  At the very least, I'll dump stuff into bins and shove them in the closet (LOL) and deal with them in the New Year.  It's mostly piles of fabric that "I have plans for."

I've also been thinking a lot about my goals for the upcoming year.  While this is addressed by most people in January, I have learned that "New Years' Resolutions" don't serve me well.  Jasmine of The Knitmore Girls Podcast has a focus for each year, and I've used this way of thinking this past year.  I chose one word to summarize what my focus was.  This past year was FAMILY.  I visited ALL of my immediate family this past year, which was really special to me because we live so far apart.  I made real efforts to try to stay connected and visit as much extended family as possible as well.  It doesn't take any real effort to stay connected with my kids since I'm lucky enough to have a great relationship with them both, but my connections with them were more conscious and as a result felt more meaningful.

I've decided that my focus for 2014 will be PURPOSE.  I think its meaning will evolve over the year, but I want everything I do this year to really have some sense of purpose to it.  That means everything from the way I spend money, to planning my wardrobe, to doing house repairs, to how I practice my spirituality, to what courses I take, to how I spend my free time, to what food I eat will have some sense of thoughtfulness and purpose for me.  I am not saying I will not be spontaneous, but I will hopefully have a year with more of a sense of direction instead of feeling like I'm just floating along.

I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays.  Enjoy this time with family and friends, and use the holidays to relax, rejuvenate and refresh yourself.  All the best, my friends.