The year’s end approaches so quickly. December use to seem to take forever as a child. As an adult, with chronic illness, I’m not caught up in that “too busy problems” of the month. I manage myself well (or try to) because I have to. Some decorations are up and we just bought a tree yesterday. I enjoy picking out a gift that the receiver will truly enjoy…. looking for that personal touch on a budget! …worth starting early. But why has everyone bought into the consumerism?? They’re stealing the joy! 

I am Catholic and I like participating in the true meaning of the season… Advent. This is the time of waiting and preparation. The 12 days of Christmas actually start on Christmas Day. Thank goodness! As I follow Dynamic Catholics “Best Advent Ever” and enjoy the season, I’m ready to make plans for the new year.

I’ve always been a flip-the-calendar kind of person. I can’t change this moment —Kinda deal —”this too shall pass” thing. So when it comes to New Year’s, birthdays, a new decade (that was this past April … 40!), it’s a hopeful, not rushing you, kind a plan. So in keeping with Advent I’m tying in a question posed to us from dynamic catholic….Am I thriving or surviving?

“A desire is a want with meaning…”

I’m torn between my desire to advocate, participate, live, and my need for self-care. I think I need to continue following these desires while developing self-care rituals. They seem to come and go with the cycles of my health. But I need some new ones to develop and stick with. I am surviving but I will continue to attempt thriving!

The deepest desires of my heart are often met with resistance because I feel so unwell. 

Just Breathe.  ….I need a constant reminder. 

As chronic exhaustion plagues me, I move through my day slowly. I often wonder where the hours have gone. I still pursue creativity, organization and rest.

But let’s go back… to when November was Thanksgiving, not Christmas. Let’s enjoy the season. How unbelievably ridiculous seasonal stress is. People that are stressed-out are making it that way themselves. Sure, buy a tree Thanksgiving weekend and leave it outside in a bucket of water. Decorate mid-December and keep it up most of January. …That gives you time for shopping, parties, the real reason for the season. Then after Christmas and New Year’s, it’s winter….enjoy the coziness of all that you’ve done! You can still enjoy it well into January. That’s what we will continue doing. What’s the rush?