Yesterday. What a day!
You know, I always say to myself that I will make it a point to REST more during the holiday season. Like clockwork, though, once November rolls around its like my festive instincts kick in and I make plans of all the things I’ll be doing for the rest of the year. I’ll bake cookies for all my neighbors, friends, and family. I’ll make DIY gifts for everyone. I’ll cook for the various gatherings (which I inevitably double book…yet still attend all). I’ll clean. I’ll cook some more. And most of all, I’ll *of course* somehow rest and make sure I’m physically able to enjoy and recover from all the celebrating!
Though these aggressive plans always look great to me on paper, rarely do they do my health any favors. Yes, I do enjoy the holidays, but days like yesterday make me question if I really have a handle on the reason for the season.
Oh, Those Cookies
Because we are visiting family for Thanksgiving, I wanted to do my cooking all day yesterday so I’d be ready for travel. The most important things for me to tackle were all my meals (I bring all my meals with me when traveling since I’m so sensitive to so much), but I also wanted to bake chocolate chip cookies for my family and also bake chocolate chip cookies for myself.
Well, my husby so wisely cautioned me that morning to prioritize. No, he said, cookies aren’t a necessity *WHAT?!?*. If I ran out of time and energy, I were to ditch these. No woman with a cookie craving enjoys hearing this.
I rarely have the energy to bake treats for myself, but I was determined. It’s Thanksgiving and I didn’t want to be the only one around the table without dessert! (These are my go-to cookies. The link is for blueberry pie, but just read it. Cookies come from the crust!)
All for the Want of Water
Well, half way through making my very first to-go meal, a pipe broke on our street and all the water was suddenly turned off. For. Four. Hours.
NO WAY!!!!!
After some pouting, eating a whole bag of Terra Chips (my guilty pleasures these days), washing my hands with bottled water, and being comforted by Mr. C., we regrouped and cut out even more things I wouldn’t be able to cook/bake that day. I’ll be honest, at that moment I wasn’t living any of the lessons learned in the 30 Days of Thanksgiving Challenge.
If you’re read my story about burnout (read it here!), you may gather that I usually (and often unwisely) don’t admit to defeat.
Missing the Point of Thanksgiving
Lets fast forward to about 11pm last night. Yes, I did make all the food I wanted and I made my and everyone else’s cookies too. At this point, I’m dizzy, achy, exhausted, and slumped over in a chair while my poor husby is cleaning, putting food away and packing for our trip for which we were supposed to leave 2+ hours earlier.
So today after all that work, travel and lack of sleep, I’m learning and regrouping.
The verse for today’s 30 Days of Thanksgiving is Psalm 34:1-3.
This passage talks about praising God all the time, no matter what. You know, much of the world lives without running water. Many don’t have the food options I still have (and certainly don’t have the luxury of dessert!), or even kitchens to cook in. They aren’t visiting family this week. Yet, many beautiful people with so much less have more thankful and happier hearts than I.
Lesson learned. Thanksgiving isn’t made more special because I work hard or do more. I want to prioritize and learn to be content with less. Let’s be thankful for the little things!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
