Preparing for Christmas

Every year there comes a time when we start to prepare for Christmas. Now I'm not talking about spiritual or emotional preparing here; just what you do to prepare.

Some people follow a set tradition every year. They shop on certain dates; they bake cookies or trim the tree. Maybe they go Christmas caroling. This can be very rewarding and keep you organized but there is a down side. What if an emergency comes up? Or you just get behind? This can add to the stress and anxiety that can ruin Christmas if you're not careful. If you're not a person who can stay on track then I would say this may not be for you. It can also exclude you from new experiences because they're not part of your tradition.

Personally I have such a wide variety of interests that my activities change from year to year. One year I made gift boxes for everyone I know. Another year I only had time to gift the names that were drawn for the family gift exchange. Last year I gave out home canned jams and jellies. This year I'm working on crocheted gifts. This is very time consumig so I may not do a lot of decorating or baking. I kind of roll with the punches so to speak. In the past I would set myself up for failure or disappointment because I would expect so much more from myself than I was capable of accomplishing. It also made it difficult to stop and enjoy the moment.

I do create a mental list of things I would like to do just to prioritize what is most important to me. If I don't get around to those items toward the bottom of the list, there's always next year. Mostly I just want to enjoy myself as I prepare for one of my favorite holidays of the year. There is such a focus on the actual event that sometimes we forget to really experience the journey to get there. If I don't really like what I'm doing than why should I force myself to go through the motions just because that's the way it's always been done.

So what are you doing to prepare for Christmas?

I Have a Brush Pile Outside My Window

I sleep with my window open - summer or winter. When it's cold, I can always add more blankets and I sleep like a baby. I like the window open because I get to hear the birds announce the day. In the summer time I hear blue jays and sometimes mockingbirds. I also hear crows which I don't particularly like. They used to fly over on their way to the country, but now they often stay in residence of the neighborhood. I know some people like crows, but I don't. I'll shoot them if I have a chance.

Anyway, I digress. I have purposely stacked small branches trimmed from our trees outside my window to create a brush pile. Why the brush pile? Currently the birds I hear in the morning are sparrows. Recently I added branches from the Lambs Quarters "weeds" that I let get almost as big as trees. They are covered in seed that the birds like to eat. For being fairly plain birds and small compared to others, sparrows have the most beautiful song. I love to hear them sing all day long. Their song is so peaceful and calming.

To some people sparrows are a nuisance as they can eat a lot of chicken feed if they have access, but I don't mind. My Aunt Jackie used to throw wild bird feed to them on her patio and now I understand why. Maybe she was also giving God a hand as the Bible mentions  that God sees a sparrow when it falls and that He provides for them. I think it gave her comfort. All I know is that I really enjoy their singing.

If you want to hear some beautiful music just create a brush pile and maybe throw out a little seed.