I took down the tree yesterday and gathered all the Christmas decorations from around the house. Today it will all be boxed up again and put in the attic, but for now my dining table looks like the holiday clearance section at Fred Meyer.
One of my favorite memories from this year was watching my kids play “house” in the tree branches with dolls, stuffed animals, Lego creations, and whatever else they could find. They also continued “decorating” the tree throughout the month, and I found all sorts of re-purposed craft supplies and kitchen items stuffed into or tied to the branches.
Despite all this manhandling, the intended tree decorations survived the kids, and only fell victim to the dog’s excessive tail wagging.
I woke up early this morning and spent some time evaluating my schedule & rearranging my priorities. I was too stressed out during 2010’s fourth quarter and needed to make some drastic changes.
I worked too much and exercised too little. I didn’t spend enough time planning, and flew by the seat of my pants. I was fueled by the adrenaline of the urgent.
So much of this was out of my control – which added to my stress – but I also didn’t say “no” as much as I should have and didn’t always rally in time to stay on top of things.
I definitely ended the year feeling exhaustion and burnout.
But here we are at January 2nd, and I already feel recharged and ready to tackle the year. I think it will be fun and full of adventure! Maybe that’s just the sun talking, but right now I feel ready for a big change, a cleanse, a renewal.
I commemorated the new year with a new about page. You can check it out here.