Each December there’s a battle between a simple and super-sized celebration. When my boys were really young, I wanted everything super-sized, but as they’ve grown, we want to focus more and more on simple. There’s more time for hot chocolate, more time to read one more chapter, and more time for making memories without the pressure of rushing to the next activity.
To help prioritize our time and activities, I make a to-do list and a not-do list. For every to-do I add, something else has to go. The big things get done and the little things don’t, and that’s OK. As we kick off December, here are my lists:
Do – Get the house ready for family coming to visit.- Don’t – Start any big projects (like cleaning out all the closets or painting a room).
- Do – Get gifts for James’s teachers, therapists, helpers, and driver.
- Don’t – Set the bar too high. We will have three years with the same team and plenty of opportunities for creativity.
- Do – Menu plan.
- Don’t – Bake.
- Do – Plan to print off pictures of the boys, put them into Christmas cards, and mail them to family.
- Don’t – Worry if that doesn’t happen. We’ll send out announcements when Joel comes home next year.
- Do – Continue to get to know my team over at Not Alone (a site for special-needs parents).
- Don’t – Stress over posting at Next Step Editing.
- Do – Finishing Christmas shopping.
- Don’t – Think every gift comes with a price tag.
