Attitude of Gratitude: Organization Helps!

Okay, peeps.

I think it continues to say all that needs to be said that I can only manage to post once a week, these day!

LIFE. IS. FULL. But mostly good (though, yes, still usually stressful, ha).

In the time since my last post, we made it to Thanksgiving Break (Amen, Hallelujah!)!

This is our happy, tired pic of all the ladies in the household on Friday morning, before the girls headed off to school. The exhaustion, but kinda/sorta a little bit of peace knowing we were almost across the finish line...was evident. :)

Though today is a busy day of laundry and cleaning and packing and science fair projecting (yup, still some school work creeping into the break), plus lots of other to-dos, we've managed a lot of quality time since Friday (more on that in a subsequent post).

In fact, I'd dare say that the quality time we have managed has been boosted by our household Attitude of Gratitude.

I'm trying so hard (during this month, in particular) to spin anything negative into a positive. The holidays are busy--full stop. And any little hack, mental reboot or repositioning can make all the difference.

No surprise: even our sermon last week centered around this very thing. God is definitely telling me to control the things I can, and be like Elsa for all the rest (Let it go, let it gooooo.)

In addition to the sermon that reinforced the mental repositioning I'm working on, an e-mailed newsletter I received not too long ago did the exact same thing. In simple but brutal terms, it basically said this:

The holidays come around every year, so why are we surprised by the demands of them?

Specifically, this was in reference to financial planning (and, boy, was that a harsh way to look at things), but if you stop and think about it, it's true. The holidays come every year. The financial demands of the holidays are more or less the same, every year. So, why is it so shocking and painful?

(Though, for the record: who wants to start planning and saving for Christmas in January, just so you don't feel overwhelmed by the financial side of things, right??? Ha.)

Still.

The spirit of organization and planning and forethought stuck with me and it's been a lovely--and fascinating--way to look at things.

First off, I created a master holiday spreadsheet, the likes of which I've never created before. And let me just say, it was SCARY, ha.

The intent of the spreadsheet was to help me feel so hyper-organized that I could track every single To Do or To Buy down to the line item, but...putting associated cost estimates on each and every thing was startling. Yikes!

Of course, we've always kept a budget and tracked our costs of the holidays in a loose way. You kind of have to, unless you're a gazillionaire, right?? But, I'd never gotten into the nitty gritty in this particular way (like, drilling down to even buying stamps for Christmas cards). And, to see the massive list and the massive accumulated cost...GOODNESS. It was a whole thing.

That said, it's actually been weirdly eye-opening, in so many ways.

Not only has it given me a better Big Picture idea of what's ahead, but it's helped me to feel so much more prepared for all of it. Truly. When I see it all in spreadsheet form, it feels so much more manageable. AND, I've been able to find the pockets of joy amidst it all.

Again, it's that Attitude of Gratitude coming into play.

Every time something comes in under budget, I'm happy!

Every time I complete a task early, I'm happy!

Every time something gets taken off the list entirely (rare, but it has happened), I'm ecstatic!

And when we find those delightful pockets of time and money, we take full advantage and I feel a greater sense of joy with it all. :)

Okay, I'm hoping for a couple other catch-up posts, today, as I'm completing things. So...stay tuned!

Until then: Happy Monday of Thanksgiving Week, peeps!

Over and out.