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It is a point of minor annoyance to me that the Christmas is treated as the end of something, a period of indulgence to be followed by a period of fasting (from food, and from purchases) in January. I don't want to go into the darkest part of the year having set myself up for failure with poor planning or self inflicted punishments for perfectly ordinary things. Any leftover glitter should be a joyful reminder, rather than prompting a moment of internal condemnation.

So this year I'm trying to approach it differently. This is a season of preparation, of getting my heart and my home ready for winter. I'm trying to get all of my going out of my system, and all my errands run, so that I can more or less stay home for the first two or three months of next year. Part of my desire for that is to avoid the annual ick my youngest vector so thoughtfully shares with the rest of us, and also to see if we can't get a little resting and recharging in, pulling our energy back into ourselves in order to put out new growth come spring.

I'm laying in a stockpile of books, enough that I can read one to myself and one aloud to the kids every week. I've included things like "sit in the sun," "take a walk," and "take a nap" on my weekly to do list for January. I've got a nice stash of rainbow knitting projects to work on. And I signed up for a seven week long virtual tarot workshop to have something to look forward to each week, from home.

Yes, there will still be gymnastics and ballet and grocery pick ups, but I would really like to stay pleasantly at home as much as possible. If cabin fever strikes, I can work on my ongoing cleaning/organizing project and see if I can get my car back into the garage (one of my goals for next year). I am not meant to run about all the time, but especially not in the cold. I'm embracing my inner bear this year - we'll see how it goes!
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