Before I jump into my "cranberry week" post (that will come next for sure), I wanted to address something that Kristie mentioned in a comment she left yesterday ...
I love the weekly themes, but I can't see that working for me. My weekly themes would go like this: this week is flower week, but the flowers I wanted to observe have not bloomed yet...at the beginning of evergreen week, I would find that trees were going to be half off the week after...during our state week, we would end up out of state on a trip. =) (Just examples, I never thought of theme weeks, but the above would drive me crazy!)
Does that ever happen to you? How do you deal with it if it does and if not, then how do you get that not to happen?!?
Lol, yes Kristie, these things happen to me all the time! And this is a really good point and I actually should have addressed it in my original post ...
The thing is, these seasonal themes are very flexible! Not only do I often shuffle them around, but some weeks nothing - absolutely nothing - gets done according to theme.
And that might be disappointing, but well - that's life. I don't mean to sound glib, and sure I get frustrated when things don't fit in like I planned, but I try to remember that keeping things real is my ultimate goal.
"Real" meaning, whatever our family life was that week - the highs and the lows. So maybe other things captured our attention and took over our time (and my energy). Maybe our week was too busy to fit in any "extras" at all. Or maybe we got sick and it all "flu" out the window!
Case in point, this week - which I dubbed "nest and hibernation" week. I had all these ideas - so many great ideas! And then Monday afternoon I got hit hard with the flu. At first I thought I could still pull some things off since we could "nest" on the couch as I recovered. But what actually happened? I slept all day! I just could not stay upright, lol. And I wasn't particularly pleasant to be around. So I didn't have the energy to make up our "winter nests" as I planned (flannel sheets, comfy quilts) and nobody felt like taking a "nest walk" while mom was sick at home ... so what happens to "nest" week? Well, it could just be dismissed, to be revisted next year ... or I could take those ideas and fit them in some other time. "Nesting and hibernation" works as well in December as it does mid-November.
Remember those "gratitude leaves" I didn't start on time? Well, I caught up and we kept going with it ... but I can tell you, we fell way behind on leaves this week! I do plan to catch up as best we can - but if we don't have 24 leaves hanging from the window on Thankgiving Day (as originally planned) that's OK. Because it will be US. And remember, I'm going for real. :)
As I've said, this is all very casual ... because these activities are supposed to be subtle. They're supposed to fit into our life, quite naturally. I don't want them to feel forced. (This is so key!) I want them to resonate with the seasons but also with our reality. I don't want to manipulate our family experience - I want to enhance it.
So to address your potential scenarios, Kristie (which made me giggle!) ... I'd suggest you might move things around a little! Wait a week on your flowers, or perhaps make "waiting and watching" part of your week. Visit the yard daily and keep track of any new growth ... look up the language of the flowers you've chosen ... visit a nursery to look at flowers already in bloom. And as for the evergreens - why not get a head start? Learn about them, identify evergreens in your own environment, collect cones and make crafts. Do all this before you head to the farm ... you'll be all the more "geared up" when you get there!
Keep your themes in mind - plan for them, certainly! - but try to remain flexible and work things in around where life takes you.
(Now, I try to take my own advice as best I can - but I well understand the need to keep things neat and tidy - you know how much I love schedules and plans! Themes look so nice all written down in order, especially when matched up with specific events - say, a field trip or feast day. But I try to work with what life hands us because goodness knows - I'm not the one really in charge!)
So I guess, Kristie, my advice would be to do what feels natural and try not to worry if things don't go as you hoped. In my experience things almost never do! I'd also say, if you know you'll go crazy when things don't match up - don't overplan! Just pick a couple of things for a week, or just brainstorm a list of activities to pick from through the month. Then if you don't get to them you won't feel like you put all this energy into planning things that never panned out.
And if you only fit in only a fraction of all you had "planned" - well, you still did some really nice things for your family. I doubt very much they'll miss what you didn't do ... but I bet they'll appreciate and remember what you did.
❤
So I hope this post helps a little, Kristie - if only to share with you my own take on "fitting it all in." It's something I work on too, adjusting my own expectations. (Life with a special needs child has taught me that well!) And I don't mean to make it sound like I'm completely laid back on all this - I tend to be too "Type A" for that! But as I say, I do try to go with the flow as best I can - working with the seasons as well as my family.
Sorry to ramble on so long but your comment really got me thinking! And by the way Kristie, please don't stop asking your questions - I love them! They get me thinking and let me know when I'm unclear or missing something or need to address something further. I appreciate that you take the time to read and "review!" :)
To all my readers ~ I hope you have a lovely weekend. I'm feeling so much better and ready to catch up with all my pre-Thanksgiving preparations. Needless to say that farm visit didn't happen last week, but we'll fit a Whole Foods trip in this weekend. And there's lots to do around here before Turkey Day ... my list has lots of little boxes to check off!
So I'll be off for now ... but I'll be back again soon. Have a good one, my friends!
~**❤**~
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