On the first day of November, I picked up some programs from the printer. After I signed and dated the invoice, the woman helping me said, “Just so you know, it’s the first, not the second.”
I looked down at the yellow paper and realized I had, indeed, written the wrong date. We laughed and I told her I was so excited for November that I jumped the gun a bit. I explained that my October had been crazy busy, and I was relieved to have it behind me.
“Oh, but now we’re starting the holidays! Life will really be out of control now – with shopping and decorating and family and oh, yeah, it’s really going to pick up now.”
Thank you, ma’am. Please excuse me while I go shatter some Christmas CDs and my recently acquired peace of mind.
Really, she was just making small talk and saying the sort of things we all do this time of year. After all, being busy is a backwards badge of honor among many circles, isn’t it? And it seems inevitable, feeling out of control and wading through chaos and wrapping paper for a solid six weeks at the end of each year. Right?
But is it possible that we can fight the madness, the busyness, the out of control-ness? I think so.
Today I’m over at (in)courage, discussing the difference between coasting and cruising and brainstorming some ideas for retaking a bit of control over our holiday season. Join me there?
I haven’t read the encourage post yet; just this. But it made me think about how much I dislike the holidays these days. I know, that’s awful. And it has nothing to do with busyness; in fact, I wish I were a bit more busy. I guess the grass is always greener! (You should be thankful for your busyness because it means lots of blessings, and I should be thankful for quiet time because that’s a blessing too — and I should use it wisely.)