Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale
I was beginning to think that I am turning into an empty nester. My oldest has her own home and a little one which means she will have her own family celebration Christmas morning. Both of my boys have significant others now. And then there's me. This will be our first Christmas without Janie here. However, I found out today that one of Ian's friends will be joining us for Christmas morning and both of the boys' girlfriends will be here too. I will have a house full! The more the merrier.
I spent some time with my Sarah today. I took her a Christmas gift (an ice cream sundae making basket) which we immediately opened and ate. It reminded me just like the news of extras for Christmas morning how important it is to spend time with the people who are important to you this time of year. How cool is it to be surrounded by so much love? I also figured out that the best way to keep me from overdoing is to keep me out of the house all day. An ex told me recently that the thing he dislike about me most is my inability to stop obsessing about cleaning and not being able to turn off and relax. Usually, I would totally ignore what a former lover has to say about what he doesn't like, but 1) I asked and 2) my son told me the same thing this week (I didn't ask him though). So, I am working on how to relax.
Let me share with you how I've been doing that as I give you today's stress free tip:
Do a little bit each day.
If you spend 20 minutes every day cleaning your house, by the weekend, everything will be done. It only takes 10 minutes to vacuum, 15 minutes to mop, 20 minutes to dust, 15 minutes to clean the bathrooms, etc. If you do this every week, these chores take even less time, because there is less to do. If you get your family involved by delegating chores, evrything gets done, and you get to have down time. I love this new way of feeding my obsession and getting stuff done! It is seriously freeing. Try it. You'll like it. Think about how it is you want to spend your time. All of my chores are done and I'm ready to host Christmas morning here. I even get a down day tomorrow, because everything is done. Go me!
Hope this helps!