Gratitude in the midst of chaos – December highlights and challenges

7 min read

During November I documented my weeks a bit and shared them here on the blog. I loved writing those and was determined to keep the habit going in December. But alas!, things went differently than planned.

Viruses everywhere

The day after we got back from England , I got hit with the flu. And I don’t mean a bad cold, I mean flu. I had a fever for five days and literally couldn’t get out of bed, I felt so weak and terrible. Edd had to come back from England early to help me with the kids, as I wasn’t even able to drive them to and from kindergarten.

I am still not perfectly well since then, there’s a bit of a lingering cough and congestion but I am hopeful to be fully recovered by the new year. Ha! I cannot remember the last time I had been this ill.

Time to pivot

Needless to say, all my nicely laid plans of getting my Christmas cards out in time, baking cookies and getting my gifts wrapped in advance were null and void. (And all the blog posts I had wanted to publish didn’t get written.)

But that’s life. You get ill or your kids do or the flight gets cancelled or the weather ruins your plans. Planning is good, but we need to be able to pivot and adjust. And even though I felt disappointed at time, I also found so much to be grateful for!

A few December highlights (thus far)

Having parents who live next door and who are willing to help when I need them is such a gift! I felt so privileged and cared for when my parents should entertained the girls so I could rest. Or my mum tidying our flat while I put the girls down. Having to lie in bed is a lot better when you’re not looking at a big mess!
Another thing that I loved looking at was our beautiful Christmas tree!

I am constantly grateful for my local community. Being able to organise last minute playdates was so helpful.
Good books! Always a gift, even more so when you’re ill!
Making an advent calendar for SJ brought me so much joy!

Lucy got an advent calendar from her godmother and it was the sweetest thing! People loving my kids makes me feel loved.

Once I felt a bit better and was able to venture out again I was so grateful for good weather! Being outside in the sunshine is so good for my soul.
It’s important to me to make Advent special for my kids and myself but without overloading our family with lots of extra tasks and appointments. So we just participated in Christmas activities that happened around us – like dying candles at our local family centre, singing carols at SJs Kindergarten, going to a St. Nikolaus service and meeting Nikolaus at the farmer’s market.

We had a great time making Christmas cookies at our friends’ house.
Beautiful skies.
Knitting on my self-striping advent socks has been so much fun! The idea is that you knit one stripe each days of Advent. Of course, I am way behind, but I’m choosing not to care.

I am always so grateful for SJ and L. I really enjoy spending my days with them, watching them grow and learn and play and become themselves more and more.
Another highlight was being interviewed for a podcast! It’s about motherhood and unmet needs – I will share the link once it is available to listen to!
Attending a thanksgiving dinner and some really great Christmas parties. Is there a better combination than great people and delicious food?!