In the weeks before my semester ended and Christmas vacation began, I made big plans!  I am not talking about Christmas plans; I am talking about all of the stuff I was going to accomplish over break–design a new class, write up new assignments for my existing courses, get a big jump on spring class planning, etc.  Then, I got sick.  Then, I got snowed in.  Then, I got snowed in again.

So, the first few days of my break, I spent on the couch with a blanket, drinking 7-up and reading novels.  I got to feeling better, but it’s been a long haul, and so as it turns out, the most strenuous things I have done so far on my break are bake and do dishes.  And, you know what?  Not only is the world not coming to a screeching halt because I am puttering, rather than accomplishing, but I don’t think it’s going to put me behind next semester.  My new mantra is: be on holiday when you’re on holiday.  Work when you’re at work.

So, besides baking and reading, I have done some rearranging and organizing to make room for Christmas gifts.  I changed the comforter on our bed.  I started wearing my new jammies.  I learned to use my coffee grinder and have been enjoying coffee in green and red mug.  I used a new bath bomb.  Took time to watch all of The Sound of Music.  I made homemade pasta with my husband, admired his sledding pictures, and made a homemade sugar scrub.

I am getting much, much better at relaxing, and in the back of my mind, I know that it is just what I needed.

     I am experienceing Halloween anxiety!  I have so many great memories of past Halloweens–the good ol’ days when I was a kid of picking out a costume (plastic mask and all) at Wal-Mart, or even better–of creating my own costume (hobo or clown) from old clothes and odds and ends around the house.  Carving the pumpkin…eating the candy…parties at school with the lavishly iced cupcakes–good times.

     For several years as an adult, I continued to dress up–a couple of years I even forked over the cash for fancy costumes.  Last year, my first year living in the country, there wasn’t too much going on.  My sweetie surprised me with a bag of Halloween candy (only the grown up kind–Russell Stover’s), and a trip to a haunted house twenty minutes away (admission was $1 a piece).  That’s pretty frugal Halloween fun.  There are no little ones in our area, and therefore, no trick-or-treaters to buy candy for.

     So, I am brainstorming, trying to think of ways to capture some Halloween fun!

• Buy some fun candy (like chocolate eyeballs) to share with your friends or co-workers.
• Get a mask only–simple enough to put on and take off, and surprise whoever happens to be around.
• Bake something Halloweeny–or pumpkiny.  For years, my mom and I baked sugar cookies in pumpkin and ghost shapes to decorate and share.
• Get some candy corn and spell out “I love you” with it on the kitchen table–a sweet message for your sweetie.
• Embrace novelty!  I think the joy of Halloween and dressing up is the chance to wear something you normally never would–to try something new minus the risk involved in every day life.  So, try something new–a funky piece of jewelry, an artsy scarf with last year’s sweater.  Make it fun!
• Get a pumpkin flavored coffee at your favorite coffee shop.
• Finally–remember, it is Halloween.  It’s fun yes, but there is also a lot of potential danger.  Make it a habit to say a prayer for God’s protection and safety for all of the little ones out collecting candy.

     “How was your weekend, Sandy?”
     “I could have used an extra day,” I respond.
     This exchange is pretty typical for me on a Monday morning. There are no classes tomorrow due to the Fourth of July Holiday, so I have a three-day weekend. Just going into it today as I was making lists and thinking about how I was going to get everything done, I began to feel that it wasn’t going to work–I needed an extra day. My husband laughs at this phenomena. He has a very demanding job and rarely gets two days off in a row, so he doesn’t get why a weekend is never enough. No matter how long the break, everyone wants to tack on the day before…maybe the day after, too.
      Well, it’s just plain depressing to go into a holiday weekend with a feeling of lack, a sense that it’s not going to be enough time to do what needs to be done. I have tons of grading, garden work, trees to plant, the house to clean, and much, much, more, but in a sense, what and how much I have to do is irrelevant. The point is, that it is never worth getting anxious about or facing tomorrow with a heart of anxiety. I will trust that God will help me do what I can, and what I don’t get to will certainly be waiting for me when the weekend is over. I want to focus my mind on all of the good things about celebrating Independence Day!
Top Things I Love About the Fourth:

1. Celebrating our freedom and the blessing of being born and raised in the United States.

2. Seeing the red, white and blue clothes and accessories everyone is wearing.

3. Being with friends and family.

4.  Grilling!

5. Gorgeous fireworks! Read the rest of this entry »