Friday, December 11, 2009

Making a list ,cutting it twice

I have this theory. That you can avoid having one of those out of control lives where you are merely treading water trying to survive instead of floating luxuriously. To achieve this lofty goal, to be able to enjoy the life you have, to savor each bite, all you have to do is be willing to prioritize and cut your to-do list. This theory states that if a high quality of life is what you are after, a simple snip snip to the list will give you that. Life enjoyed, instead of life survived.

It's only a working theory and a sucky one at that.

We do cut our list. When Noah said he was scared of Santa this year and didn't want to visit  him -- snip! We sent Santa an email instead. When we got two activity invites and we coulda done both, but it woulda been rushed...we snipped the second one that came in. When I found a great teacher gift from a crafty woman I know, I dropped " Bake Goodies" off my To Do list. All pretty much guilt free.

But it's Christmas time. Busytime. Mommy Crunchtime. Somethings can't be snipped. Some activities MUST be done. All three of the kids have parties and programs at different times. Luke still has basketball practice. homework still needs to be done. Laundry still is created. We still need to eat. Gifts to faraway family and friends need to be purchased, wrapped and sent. Gifts for those here need to be delivered. There are people we must see, places we must go and the pace is quick, and deliberate. I am enjoying the season this year, but I can't actually say I am luxuriating in it.  Thankfully my snipped To Do list is providing me with a floaty and I can easily handle and appreciate the pace.

I'm sure you are the same. You have similar To Do lists. Maybe you WANT to do it all. More power to ya! But, I'm sure you will understand  why the last time I was on here was right after Thanksgiving. For your viewing pleasure, here a few pictures of life since then.

May all of you be able to snip your lists without guilt and enjoy this time of the year!
We decorated the outside of the house





Got some livestock






Beks had her first middle school dance






We got the house ready for Christmas as we celebrate Advent!



Sure there are more, but what will I have to talk about the next time if I show you them now??

5 comments:

  1. bonus on the livestock they don't need tending.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yay for cutting the list. I did some cutting this year also. For instance putting the Hallmark collection of ornaments on the tree. Actually this kind of sorta happened and both Allen and I decided we were ok with it. But Hallmark ornaments require getting the heavy box off the shelf, a top one at that (what was I thinking?), taking out each ornament from its individual box, hanging it on the tree, attaching a power source to several that make music or have movement, and then after Christmas putting each ornament back in it's individual box after hunting for the correct empty box from the bunch in the big box. Anyway, you get the picture. It's saving me time now and again in January when I take down the tree. Good blog, Susan, I can relate. Lucy

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think I added more than I cut ... As usual, I'm doin' it all wrong!

    ReplyDelete
  4. No,you're doing it right, Mari!. Your kids are still little-- you have to keep adding over the years and THEN you get to start cutting... I did say it was a sucky theory, right? :)

    See Lucy cut. Good Christmas, Lucy!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. "I have this theory. That you can avoid having one of those out of control lives where you are merely treading water trying to survive instead of floating luxuriously" As one of the water treaders, I find this theory vastly appealing! I just have to figure out what to cut. Does sleep count? :)

    ReplyDelete

Something! Anything! Word association, your grocery list, a thumbs up...I don't care! I'm a comment 'ho and I can't get enough!
*ahem* I mean, thanks for taking a moment to comment! Blogs like mine(that is to say- free from ads)consider any commentary payment for a job done. Maybe done well.