OK so it happened again. There was a definite come-down two days after Christmas for me. Did it happen to you, too? This was a particularly zen holiday so that makes it worse. I didn’t Scrooge one second this year. But since I was a chubby cheeked toddler and all the Christmases in between the come-down creeps in. Like New Year’s morn when your head is pounding and the clock to punch back in at work is ticking furiously.
I know the holidays aren’t great for everyone. But can I wax mystical about mine this year? Just for a minute.
It was so peaceful. None of my perfectionism reared its ugly annoying little sharp-tongued monster head. My son said it was “The best Christmas ever!” He says that every year but for some reason I think he meant it most this time. We saw lots of family and friends and also had quiet time at home. Our usual traditions still intact (although our fave Indian restaurant was closed on Christmas Eve so we had Thai instead. And they gave me a gift of hugging hippo salt and pepper shakers!) Me and my son’s dad, or as I will now call him my co-parent, had a truly lovely time together. Like old friends again. No stress. No high expectations. And the weather was fabulous.
So I had my little come-down pity party after. I had a short cry in the shower. It would have lasted longer if “Cat’s In the Cradle” had shuffled on my iPod.
Now onto the list. There have been years where I was like, “I’m not gonna participate in making that ridiculous resolution list. They all list-fully fall away in a matter of months or even weeks anyhow.”
But in my concerted effort to continue the forward motion of zen, I shall make one this year for sure. So off the top of my clear head here it is.
- Lower my expectations and put a pillow on top of the mouth of the perfectionism monster.
- Give gratitude. Every day. And infiltrate this into my son’s brain as well.
- Have more game nights.
- Less technology. Or at least stop bringing my phone to the dinner table. And infiltrate this into my son’s brain as well.
- Write more.
- Balance work-life. Try to stave off exhaustion and have a dinner party once in awhile.
- Get to the beach more. Even if just for 30 minutes to watch the sunset.
- Let go of the things I can’t control, like my son being an almost teenager and not loving all the things I like to do.
So there it is. I’m sure I could add more but I’ll stop now. Eight is my favorite number anyway. The first and the last on the list are definitely the most difficult.
I’ll refer back to this list in times of turmoil. And look back to the zen of Christmas holiday 2016. What are your resolutions? I’d love to know.
And oh yes, I wish you a beautiful 2017. Happy New Year!
Busted Flip Flops 