It may only be September, yet stores are covered in holiday decorations. There are less than three months until Christmas and each year the holidays arrive earlier and earlier. When I was a little girl. Certain holidays were benchmarks in how time was passing. Labor Day was the end of summer. Memorial Day was the beginning of summer. The Fourth of July meant summer was half over, and Halloween, well, that holiday no matter the weather or homework assigned always meant free candy. Thanksgiving meant turkey and family, football and Mom’s fabulous corn bread stuffing. Christmas meant snow and outside games, while Easter meant new outfits, egg hunts and more candy. It is strange to think from a child’s perspective and remember how the passing of time was expereinced.
Holidays – no matter the topic or season – meant something special. They marked a point in time and somehow always involved family and food. It is not different today except that we spend so much time planning ahead that I think we forget to enjoy the holiday once it arrives. We work to make things perfect and forget that some of the best holiday stories are the ones where something went terribly wrong. Like the year my Mom was sick with the flu so we had pizza for Thanksgiving. Or the year we forget to find an egg during the Easter egg hunt and it showed up months later with a smell so bold we couldn’t miss it. Or the time we invited friends over for Thanksgiving and spent the entire day playing UNO.
The planning is important, but only if it allows us to enjoy the day and all it’s special gifts even more. Planning should free us from things not add more to our to do lists. How many times do we plan so much and forget to enjoy what we have planned? We need to stop and smell the food, the flowers, listen to the same bad jokes or old family stories and savor the time together. Too much planning takes the joy out of anything. Planning should provide time to relax and not just allow us to complete more items on the spreadsheet. If we are not planning to free our time, then why are we planning? And no, building time to relax into your plan does not mean you are a good planner. Not everyone wants or needs a plan. Let go, enjoy, relax, and let something fall apart.
The holidays will come and go. The real question is what did you get out of all your hard work? No matter what happens as the next few months of holidays roll around, family, food, fun and time…let go of the plan. Ignore the pressure to prepare and live a lot more. The holidays will come again next year.
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