Saturday, October 30, 2010

On Parade

I am thinking there is something about the stretch of time from October to December that makes moms particularly vulnerable to Supermom-itis. There are so many opportunities to prove that you are all the things that a Mom "ought to be" -- Halloween costumes, Thanksgiving crafts and dinner, and Christmas... don't even get me started on Christmas... pictures in the pumpkin patch, pictures with Santa, cookies...

Am I the only one who finds herself starting to compete even against my will? It is so strange. I will be thinking, with the logical part of my brain, "just do your best and have fun." And yet my Supermom brain will start scheming, making lists of all the Things I Must Do, getting morose because I can't possibly accomplish everything... and it starts to run away with me.

This year I am working on having a sane holiday season. It might be a crazy thing to hope for, but I have recently been struggling so much with expectations vs. reality, and it is time for me to really get realistic about the holidays, and act in accordance with the realism.

Why is it so easy to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to everyone else, and why do the holidays bring out the worst competitive streak in me/us? It's a great mystery. Something to think about.

For this year, I am going to try the following:

-presents that are simply "good enough," rather than "absolutely perfect."
-foregoing my annual tradition of baking Christmas cookies. I have two young kids, and I'm just not going to do it. :p pphhhlbbt
-shopping early, in small batches, often without the kids, when possible.
-spending time with people instead of spending money on things.
-scheduling time for quietness and family time, even in the midst of the holiday hoopla.

Is it too ambitious to forego ambition? Can I strive not to strive? What do you think?

3 comments:

  1. Lisa! If you want to come down to moms house when we bake cookies it'll be fun! The kids can play and the mess is at someone elses house! Lol.

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  2. Ooh, that sounds really fun. Let me know when :)

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