Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Last Week of Advent


"Today the darkness begins to grow shorter and the light to lengthen, as the hours of night become fewer.... Realize that the true light is now here and, through the rays of the gospel, 
is illumining the whole earth."
-Gregory of Nyssa

I'm one of the seemingly few people who loves the cold and dark days of winter. This is my favorite time of year. Here in the Puget Sound it's usually gray and rainy for weeks and weeks and honestly I'd be happy if it was gray and rainy for the whole year. So I really try and soak it up! 
My son Peter was born with HED (Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia). He cannot sweat, so we really try and enjoy these cooler days with as much outside time as possible. When everyone else is starting to go outdoors in the summer, we seek shelter inside and actually (by necessity) end up watching way more movies/netflix than we would ever do in the fall/winter/spring. 

This Advent I've spent more time than usual inside. I cleaned up and gave away a lot of our things. It was great, but I totally noticed a difference in my kids (and my) mood. It was exasperated by the fact that I was cleaning and not as present with my kids. I turned to screens more than I should have and the repercussions of that were very hard. Everyone was getting crankier and crankier. Eventually I realized that the cleaning must stop. My attention turned back to our normal schedule. I turned off all screens for 3 days to reset the family. Suddenly the peace and anticipation of the season was felt. 

I'm glad the cleaning happened, but in the future I will have to take a slower approach. 

I love cleaning and my preferred approach is intense. In the past I would empty every cupboard and drawer in the kitchen at once, along with the fridge, and then deep clean the oven, then clean the cupboards, then put everything away again neat and tidy. Obviously, that would never work with a 2 year old and a baby, but I guess I had to try a few times to believe it. Actually, I'm embarrassed to say that I'm so stuck in my old habits, I might have to try a few more times before I'm absolutely certain. 

One of the biggest things for me to let go of as a parent is a contently tidy house. I also value creative play. So I compromise by rotating the available toys, making sure every single thing has a place to be put away, and then (while silently praying about 30,000 Hail Mary's) I relax. 


Peter enjoys stringing yarn all over the house. 


Peter actually loves putting things away with me. That's where everything having a place to be put away really helps. He knows where everything goes, so he's relaxed and happy to help. 

I'm thankful that the second half of our Advent reflected the joyful expectation that this season offers. 


Our daily walk to the forest. Binoculars for bird watching.

Peter and his uncle Arlen (my brother, who's only 9 months older) "fixing" the tractor.

Adventuring. 

On the carousel at Zoo Lights. 

Rosie has really started to enjoy reading books! <3

One of her favorites, she pulls it of the shelf and brings it to me!

Peter in a soothing lavender bath. Rosie laughing at the splashing.

Nanna and Papa got us a glowing stomp rocket. It's just about the best thing ever.

 Stringing popcorn and cranberries.

Peter telling Rosie that the cranberries are "bleck".
Eventually we had to move to the table, babies and cranberries-popcorn-sharp needles-fishing line don't mix.

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