Peter Jones Department Store London
Christmas is a pretty big deal at my house. There’s nary a tradition I’ve heard that I don’t try to incorporate somewhere. I eat it up.
But this year, we’re skipping Christmas. Literally. Thanks to the international date line.
We get on a plane on December 24th and arrive in New Zealand the next day, only the next day is the 26th (can’t wait to share with you all my walkabout adventures in January!!). We’re not exchanging gifts given the small fortune it’s going to cost us to take everyone down under. Decorations are minimal, we’re even forgoing the audacious flocked tree I insist on getting every year.
Lafayette Department Store in Paris
Don’t get me wrong. I clearly understand I’m giving up traditional Christmas for something fabulous. But it doesn’t mean it didn’t cause me some angst. Was I depriving my children of the magic of the holiday? Would this lack of getting into the season affect me spiritually? Every year, Christmas has been a daily event beginning at Thanksgiving and culminating on the big day. From music to shopping to entertaining to wrapping paper wars at the end of all the gift opening, I have loved every minute and found that even the commercial joy boosts me spiritually. No matter how stressed it made me, I wouldn’t let anything go because it wouldn’t feel like Christmas.
When planning my big trip I tried to have it both ways. We could celebrate Christmas in NZ, I thought. Or we could celebrate it here and then go. But timing concerns led us to skip it, and the more I let that idea ruminate the more it made sense. And honestly, when there’s no big day coming, I just haven’t been in the mood to shop, decorate or really even enjoy the music.
While I thought I would miss all the hoopla, the baking, the fresh garland, it turns out that I don’t.
My little guy once said when he was feeling sick “I want to take everything out of my stomach and put a couple of things back in.” It’s not a longing for emptiness, but that white space on the page that leaves room for clarity and focus. Sometimes the only way to achieve it is to experience the emptiness and then put things back in.
But it’s scary, at least to me. I wonder how many other events on my calendar and in my life could use this kind of overhaul. The idea of letting go of something I love is hard, some part of me believes I won’t be the same without it. And I often find that my limited vision believes there is only one path to every outcome I desire so I won’t leave the one I’m on, even if it’s no longer serving me or a better offer comes along.
Stuttgart, Germany
What great things have you let go of for the better? Are there things in life you’re scared to take a break from?
If you love these images, check out this great post at Wanderlust and Lipstick
Photo credit: Peter Jones London — Monica Arellano-Ongpin
Photo credit: Paris Tree — caspermoller
Photo credit: Stuttgart — David Blackwell
Interesting post, Mel. Right now, I can only think about the actually *skipping Christmas* part–not the bigger issues you address. I’ve been feeling a bit Scrooge-like the last couple weeks because this time of year is just crazy. And I am not loving it. Too many end-of-year/end-of-semester parties (work, church, kids’ school), at our house we are having many recitals/concerts (Messiah for me, three piano recitals, one choir recital, and one band recital), plus the church Christmas cantata (only I am involved in that, but it is requiring many rehearsals and the music isn’t easy enough for me to just sight read so I am having to practice), and and and . . . I could go on, but you get the point.
So I’ve been thinking: NEXT year, this needs to be different. But right after I think that, I get stuck. Some of the things are mandatory. I couldn’t bar my daughter from participating in the band concert because she would fail the class and get kicked out of band (something I don’t want). We would be shooting ourselves in the foot if we opted out of the piano recitals because I think performing is a big part of improvement and the whole experience.
So I can go through each thing on the list and come up with a valid reason for why I can’t scratch it off the list. ??
The only thing I could NOT do would be buy gifts for the kids. Talk about Scrooge! I can see it now . . . the kids at a future family gathering remembering the year that Mom refused to buy gifts for them because I was too strung out.
Holy smokes, what a schedule! I have trouble cutting a little here and a little there because I love it all or see it as important even though it makes me feel busy and stressed. That’s why this year has been really fun because almost everything got cut in order to make the trip happen.
FWIW – we really are missing one of the things that got cut (besides presents, the kids are definitely missing those!!!) this year. My daughter loves to perform in the Nutcracker and due to our move she changed studios to one that doesn’t have one, they do a January show instead. But we’re both really missing the Nutcracker so we’ll find a way to make it happen next year for sure.
And one more thing I’m going to try to remember more as I plan ’11. I love the quote “Sacred cows make the best burgers.”
I let go of my 4-leaded-Coke-a-day habit, lost 10 lbs right away, and haven’t craved one since. Leaving some things behind can definitely change your life.
Enjoy this Christmas, Mel. You may be cutting-out most of the trimmings and runnig-away on a jet plane but the day itself is only the technical part.
@ Matt: cold turkey?
Good for you Matt, that’s hard to do. What an amazing result!
Cold turkey. I had so me health issues to motivate me. Funny how that works.