Welcome to another Monthly Medley! I certainly didn’t plan to only put out one blog post between the last Monthly Medley and this one, but such is life. December tends to be a little more hectic than the other months, so I’m going to give myself some grace.
Happenings
This month, it was the two year anniversary of meeting my boyfriend’s kids and we celebrated with donuts, their choice. Last year, I decided to celebrate with a small cake and a candle just to show them that it was an important day for me and event that took place in my life. It’s nothing big, but it means a lot to me and I hope to celebrate it for as long as I can.
This month also included the winter solstice, which I spent writing goals, clarifying my vision board, getting my planner ready for next year, looking up seasonal foods, and thinking of recipes to test to better celebrate future equinoxes and solstices. I can’t wait to start trying them out in January. Stay tuned!
December also brought the decision to disable my Instagram account that was intended to be for this blog and focus on a nature-based account I run. You can find that here. Although my following is small, I’ve really been enjoying posting about something that truly lights me up. That feeling of having an account that’s a pretty pure representation of my heart and that gets me excited to log onto also led to me logging out of my personal account. I hate to say it, but sometimes the people we actually know or have met have the ability to affect our moods more than they should. That doesn’t mean I don’t follow anyone personal, I’m just more selective about who I do follow.
Last little bit going on is trying to get my garden ready for the spring. I ordered my seeds the other day and cannot wait to start getting them in the ground, but I need somewhere to put them first. I’m planning to have my beds done by the end of January. Fingers crossed. Guess I better get busy working on that.
Food for Thought
As I’ve gotten older, Christmas has come to bring a different kind of excitement for me. Granted, I hate the crowds, the budget that typically gets left in the dust, and the acquisitiveness that comes with the season. But adult Christmas is different than kid Christmas and I quite enjoy it. When I was a child, I was fortunate enough to get many gifts for the holiday, whether from my parents, Santa, or my aunt and uncle who’d typically have a giant bag filled with presents for my brother, my cousin, and me. However, all of those gifts and I don’t remember most of them. I do remember having to find a place to put my pile of toys after the holidays and that was never enjoyable.
These years, things are different. I want less and typically want smaller things, but the things I do want I’m really excited about. For instance, I got a gardening apron, a Home Depot gift card, a couple pairs of shoes, planter boxes, puzzles, a candle, money to put towards a Discovery+ subscription (y’all, I’m so excited!), and a wall calendar. I know smartphones provide calendars, but I’m a wall calendar gal who loves picking a new one out for the coming year. In pre-COVID times, we’d get together with family where we’d eat and play games. No opening gifts, although my aunt still chooses to transfer us “kids” money. But the focus is different. I’m not as excited about what I’m going to get as I am about upholding traditions like eating cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning and creating memories playing games and laughing with my family.
I hope when I have a family of my own I can try to find some sort of balance between gifts and quality time. I know it’s gratifying to watch the wonder and excitement in a child’s eyes this time of year, but maybe that can still be achieved on a smaller scale because the joy felt when getting new things is temporary and attention spent between the gifts is fleeting when there’s so many to take in.
Rundown of December 2020
Recently watched… Kiss the Ground on Netflix. Highly recommend it.
Finished reading… Think like a Monk by Jay Shetty, Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown, Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, The Soul of the Indian by Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa), and The Art of Living by Epictetus.
Up next on the reading list… A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson while I wait for a couple books to come in at my local library.
Using and enjoying… the Commit30 planner. I’m excited to really dive into this in the new year. I find resolutions are difficult to keep. You ever get to August and either forget what it was you wanted to be working on this year or your mindset has completely shifted? I love the idea of having a general goal for the year, but breaking it down into manageable monthly goals. Stay tuned on how it’s going!
Honestly… motivated to work towards the life I want to live.
Finding humor in… my enthusiasm for Discovery+, a new streaming service. Food Network, Animal Planet, OWN, HGTV, Magnolia Network, History…it’s like all of my dreams are coming true. I’m giddy!
Hoping… this next year will be less taxing on the world as a whole.
Honesty, Humor & Hope 