Every year I look forward to Thanksgiving, but by the day after I start dreading the Christmas season. Call it seasonal affective disorder, or the holiday blues, but the over-planning, the over-shopping, and the constant over the top commercialism will send a speeding panic attack my way. It happens every year, and it has happened every year, and it will probably still happen, but I’m slowly learning how to deal with it.
Well this is where my Asparagus root used to be…
I had ten roots planted, and Mia has dug up and destroyed all but three…
I also had a blueberry bush that was showing some promise, and even had a few berries. Mia systematically chewed off all the branches, and then dug up the roots, and ate them too…
Ugh, so frustrating!
Any advice on keeping an ornery puppy out of the garden, and off of my baby plants?
So I’ve altered my dream garden plans for this Summer just a bit… All thanks to one hungry puppy.
Mia “I’m outside, and ready to chew some plants!”
She ate my newly planted blueberry bush,
and she gnawed on the blackberry bush too…
I finally have some baby Okra plants popping up.
No, Mia, no! Squeaky ball attack. You know the best place to play squeaky ball is in the garden.
Mia has also been digging up my Asparagus root. She leaves them all over the steps for me. I keep re-planting them, so we’ll see if they make it through the Summer.
After a little rest, Mia is ready for some more…
She spots the Strawberry plants.
Attack Mode!
Mia says “gardening is futile!”
She is pretty cute though, but I think I had better invest in some puppy fencing around the garden.
This week the kids are back to the normal school routine, but this week has been anything but normal…
We had sad news over the Christmas break that Thade’s teacher had passed away… It was sudden and completely unexpected, and the entire school family misses her dearly. She was a fantastic teacher, that truly loved all of her students as the individuals that they are. Taking him back to school on Tuesday was one of the saddest days…
We went in early to meet the substitute, and it is a teacher that he has had before, he then wanted to go to the gym to meet up with his friends before school. I had to head to the lunchroom and pay for his school lunches for the month, I was doing fine, until one of my very favorite teachers there came up to hug me, and then I broke down… I feel like a crappy mom for crying in front of a lunchroom of adorable kiddos, but sometimes these emotions are just too tough to hold in. She said that she was so sad too, but she was going to do whatever she could to help out with Thade’s class. I have another dear friend who works at the school, and she said that she would keep an eye on Thade for me too. I left in tears, and headed home…
Thade had told me that many of the teachers had come by to spend time with the class during the morning, and the school counselor was there to help too. They were able to talk about it, and let all of their emotions out. Some kids were sad, some angry, some didn’t want to talk at all. These are difficult lessons to learn when you are only 7 or 8.
Wednesday went a little better. Thade still didn’t want to go, there was a mean kid on the playground, and he wanted his teacher back. He asked so many questions, and even at night it was difficult to put his mind at ease.
Here we are on Thursday, and Thade is still sad, but hanging in there. Luckily there is no school tomorrow, and my goodness do we need another break already. He walked in slowly this morning, and I know it is still so difficult to hold his head up and get back to it. 3:00 p.m. can’t come soon enough today.
Next week will be easier, and everyday the sadness is a little less. It still hurts though, and I know those little ones are just heartbroken…
As you probably know by know that when the holidays roll around, so do my holiday blues. These seasonal blues also make a recurrence during the Summertime, but the Christmas season is always tough for me to handle. This year I’m approaching the holidays completely different, and so far the blues have stayed far away.
I decided to look at what stresses me out the most, and do my best to avoid it. This also means, saying no, and skipping out on holiday events, but so far it is working. I’ve moved my focus from trying to be at everything, and trying to do everything, instead I simply do what matters to me most. I spend extra time with my kids, and I am looking forward to spending Christmas with my family too.
Crowded stores, anxious shoppers, spending needlessly are all big anxiety triggers for me. This year I’ve passed the shopping duties on to my husband. I take care of the cooking, and homemade presents, but the majority if the gift shopping is up to him. This has really helped me this season. There are plenty of presents, but there isn’t a stressed out me.
I’ve also de-cluttered the house a little bit every week. The influx of Christmas presents can induce an OCD driven panic attack faster than anything, so I’m trying to keep the clutter to a minimum.
It is an old cliche, but less truly is more. I want myself and my kids to be appreciative of what we have, and be grateful for what we are given. The most important gift I can think of is time with family. To make sure that I get to spend as much time as I can with them on Christmas day, I’m keeping everything simple. The Christmas menu is simple, the gifts are simple, and the decorating is simple. The logic of less is more has simply made me happy.
I have been enjoying the holiday season more this year. I loved going to the Christmas parade with the kids, and decorating the house for Christmastime too. I’ve sipped my favorite coffee, and even had fun wrapping the presents, well before Christmas eve. This time of the year I am usually a stressed out-worried mess staying up way too late to make everything perfect for guests arrival. Not this year, this year is completely different.
So if you struggle with holiday blues and anxiety too, I just want you to know that you are not alone… This season can be a beautiful one, but one that can bring along some holiday troubles too. I do believe that this Christmas will be a great one, and I hope a little less stressful too.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, and a very happy holiday season too.