The Thanksgiving Christmas Gap

Ah, late November - the week after Thanksgiving and BEFORE December is that magical time where there are usually NO parties, no gift-giving opportunities, and no mandate for decorating.  If you have already decorated your tree, no shame will come because it IS post-Thanksgiving, after all.  

It's also post-Black Friday sales time, which as we all know, is that Friday who is the nemesis of any so-called minimalist.  The day/weekend/week that is the siren song to all, calling and beckoning with 65% off if you just enter the coupon code.   Ok, yeah, I got a few things.  Hurry up UPS!

In truth, I do try to take advantage of a few sales.  NO early morning TV adventures here, but the interwebs offer security and temperature control during my shopping.  What does this have to do with minimalism, you ask?  

LAST year, I promised myself my Christmas decor would find a home OUT of the attic space, and more organized than before.  Unfortunately, my garage became its temporary home, and the cats just wanted to investigate all the containers and use some as a litter box.  So, up the decor went to disappear for another 11 months until it needed to debut for Holiday 2022.  I'm back where I started.  

With red and green tubs of crap.  

Once again, out of the mouths of babes I hear wisdom.  Second son was helping with the annual pilgrimage to the depths of hell (getting boxes down from the garage attic).  I told him I hope he kept some of this when I am dead to remember me by.  He said nope, BIG garage sale.  WHAT?  All these memories from your childhood, out on the lawn with an OBO sticker on them (yes, I have become my mother-in-law)??  He casually glanced over in the crevices of the dusty attic at a stray plastic pumpkin that lights up with an "EEEEEK!" cut out and said, "THIS?  This thing is not my childhood memory".  Touché, Sparky.  

Once again, I will try to cull the herd.  Although, the Christmas contagion caught me off guard this November, and I ordered duvet covers with reindeer for two beds at the house.  In my defense, I needed to wash the existing ones anyway...

Until I do start with the unveiling of Christmas 2022 and the subsequent Put Back Up Before the Dawn of 2023, I am going to enjoy the mild influx of a few holiday decorations.  Not much, and maybe this will suffice?  Will I lose steam and just say enough is enough?  Perhaps.  That's how minimalism tends to increase with age.  We just don't care anymore.  

Enjoy the last vestiges of fall's glory before the Christmas busyness envelops you.  It may be the MOSTEST wonderful time.  

Oh, and you don't need that snowman collection.  Your kids won't want it.  Happy holidays, minimalist friends!

Check in: Busy?

As the "we'll get to it after the new year" season approaches in the universe, I like to do a self check-in on how I feel about life's busyness.  The end of the semester is nigh, holiday events are looming, and my list isn't getting shorter. 

How do I feel about this?  Honestly?  I am ok with the level of busy.  It's not a badge of honor for me.  But it IS how I run on a daily basis, because I'm an extrovert/unmedicated ADD/energetic person.  It's not right for everyone, but it works for me. 

It doesn't make me too stressed, because I force myself to prioritize.  I am a closet procrastinator, and heaven only knows how I finished a doctorate without any extensions or tardies.   My students usually get to the top of the list for deadlines, because they too are working on deadline.  It's just respectful to not make them wait on grading/feedback/etc. 

Family obligations are nearly tied with professor life for A-1 designation.  My flexible gig makes it pretty simple to do both.  I have a handful of hobbies, and now that pickleball has taken over my life, I have to make time to dink!  One thing I have had to remind myself frequently is that if I don't have time to get to a hobby, or if it sits on the back burner for awhile, that is OK!  No one is monitoring my hours spent and pickleball/flight training/organizing will wait (clearly my lack of attention to this blog is proof that it's still there right where I left off). 

As my children have entered adulthood and have their own lives and partners, I have scaled back the holiday events and planning.  I still love to celebrate with them the football day of Thanksgiving and all the things Christmas season can offer, but I don't hang so much "making memories!!!" pressure anymore.  I swear, I don't know how the millennial moms do it with the social media influencers beckoning to make everything the most AMAZING.  We Gen X'ers are glad to be out of that pressure cooker.  

I have more post-it notes than a true minimalist probably should claim, but I use them to remind and make lists.  It's the only way to keep it together.  I am not leaving this planet without enjoying it, so here's to the holidays and sticky note your way to a wonderful season!