Preparing for the season

It’s finally Fall!

Actually, I’ve been in a Fall frame of mind since September first, but we won’t get bogged down with the details.

I love this time of year more than any other time. Every day from September first I wake up with anticipation, looking forward to all the exciting, wonderful things that are happening.

That’s a damn lie, and you know it. The holidays are coming, and my kids are freaking thirteen years old. The pressure to make the holidays magical is real. I also suffer from seasonal depression. So if we’re to compare the holidays to running a marathon, the holidays when you have seasonal depression are like running a marathon with a fifteen-pound bobcat perched on your back.

Even so, I do genuinely love Fall. I love the holidays, even if they are stressful. I want to have a good holiday season. I want to even be productive this time of year because I’m trying to run a business.

More than anything, I want to be ready to face January second. It’s my least favorite day of the year, no lie. All the excitement of the holidays is over and I hit a wall hard core. But I’ve learned ways to avoid that hit.

So I want to share with you today how I’m transitioning my schedule and my habits into Fall and prepare for the dreaded January 2^nd.

18 before 18

What’s the best way to avoid feeling depressed? Feel productive! During the holidays I’m busy, but I’m also able to keep myself mostly happy (or at least faking it) because there’s a lot of activity. So, I’m knuckling down on my 18 Before 18 list. -Link to post-. If I can get these things done, then I’ll feel successful. Or, at least not as lazy.

Self care

I’ve said it before, but I feel that it bears repeating. If you have depression, anxiety, or any other mental illness, talk to your doctor about the best way to manage it.

I find that often I’ve dropped self-care during the holidays. I’ve disregarded my good eating habits, forgotten to drink water, not taken time out for myself. None of this leads to a happy Nicole. And if I’m not enjoying the holidays, none of the rest of my family is. So what’s the point of it all?

Hygge

I discovered Hygge in the Summer when it’s not quite as fun. So I’m actually pumped to start practicing it full on now that the weather is cooling down. Starting with lots and lots of crocheting. Anyone who follows me on social media should prepare for pictures of blankets. Lots of blankets.

Mediation

Are you tired of me telling you to meditate? Too bad, because I’m not tired at all of telling you to do it. At very least, use it to drown out the Christmas music that’s going to be playing everywhere in about three days.

Careful planning

I set out a plan of action for the holidays on September second. When I’m working on Halloween decorations when I’m buying cards and gifts. When I need to start crocheting Christmas presents. (September third was when I started that, by the way.)

I just refuse to put myself into a panic by delaying things this year. I refuse to be blindsided because I wasn’t thinking ahead. The holidays are not an emergency, they’re the same time every year. So I’m going to plan for them, damn it!

Putting family time first

I think that it’s just crazy how stressed out people get over the holidays. First off, the whole point of the holidays is that they’re supposed to be fun! They’re supposed to be a nice break from the every day, something to look forward to. They’re not supposed to upset us so much.

And if they do upset us, then maybe we shouldn’t do them! Or, at least we should only do the parts we like. We’re adults, after all. If having your family over stresses you, don’t do it! If you don’t like writing Christmas cards, don’t! You don’t have to celebrate the holidays unless you damn well want to, and that’s the honest truth.

If you’re going to celebrate, do it in ways that make you happy. Spend time with your family doing things you all love. My family has so many traditions for every holiday (most of which revolve around tv shows and movies). They don’t cost money, they just require us all to spend time together. Yes, we buy gifts and go trick or treating and bake a turkey. But we all actually like doing these things. We wouldn’t do them if we didn’t.

The next three months can be the hardest or the best months of the year. There’s a chance they might be a little bit of both. It’s entirely up to us.