These holidays just do not have to be perfect….these holiday plans do not have to be perfect…I do not have to be perfect…
I am chanting to myself, so I will (hopefully) remember that I, and my holiday plans, do not have to be perfect.
All my St. Nicholas Day plans, the ones I laid out yesterday, went astray. Or awry. Whatever word best draws a mental picture of plans not working out as they should.
But, you know what? I’ve learned that as long as I tell myself that the day does not have to be perfect, and as long as I allow my children and my husband to be imperfect (okay, fine…me, too), I am happy with the day. But if I dwell on all that went wrong (burnt cookies, extra errands, no brown sugar….), the day was ruined and I am glum.
Things are going to often go astray and awry in a house filled with little kids. But kids could care less about that.
What they will remember — watch out, now, you know what I’m going to say — is our attitude, whether it be happy or grumpy.
I’m definitely not speaking from a throne here. I was a grumpy perfectionist mama earlier today. It was that thought, the one I just mentioned – that kids remember our attitudes – that straightened me up.
We salvaged our St. Nicholas Day by making chocolate chip cookies instead of a Swedish delicacy, by reading Santa Claus, Are You For Real? book (see the left column for a photo of the book and a link to see it), and by eating pizza instead of having a St. Nick tea.
And our kids are putting out their shoes tonight for St. Nicholas to fill with goodies instead of last night. I think St. Nicholas will still come tonight.
I guess I’d better go help him do that ……
by Lori Seaborg
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