Do you feel fabulous? I’m not sure I can, in all honesty, answer, “Yes,” to that question. But man, I’d sure like to! I would love to skate into the holidays like the cat in the picture, or more appropriately like Lizzo coming on stage.

But. I live in the world of day jobs, and night writing, and homecaring, and sleep, and anxiety, and stress, and worry about society in the wake of a major pandemic and upcoming elections (and that’s not to mention the fact that winter is coming on fast and that means darker days and longer nights).

Usually, when I think of the holidays, I think of things like:

• Focus on gratitude (inspired by Thanksgiving)
• Focus on the people in my life (inspired by the myths of Christmas)
• Focus on Samhain and Yule (part of my personal spiritual traditions)
• Focus on community (part of Kwanzaa celebrations and learning other cultural traditions)

This year, though, I’m thinking of something different. I want to go into the holidays feeling at peace with myself and my daily round. It’s a tall order, especially in 2022 in the U.S. (and really, anywhere in the world with the geopolitical situation as it is). So I have two tools I’m using:

Flylady

This is not a new tool, but it’s a time-tested and, if you believe it, fun tool for getting on top of the process of homecaring. If you haven’t come across it before, check out the website https://www.flylady.net/. I downloaded the free app (available on Apple and Android devices) and have fallen in love with “shining my sink” (which you can look up on the site).

The reason I’m bringing it up here, though, is that she has a system for a stress-free Christmas — AND you get everything done by December 1^st (not Midnight-thirty on December 25^th, not that I’m saying I’ve done that ~innocent~). What’s more, you do it by baby steps: fifteen minutes a day, not marathon, monster sessions that leave you grouchy, tired, and burned out.

The Highlight Reel

This tool is thanks to Dr. Mia Rose, author and CEO of Soulwoman (https://www.soulwomancollective.com/). It’s easy to do:

• Grab your phone
• Go to your photos
• Pick out your favorites from the past six months or year – or do it from January to now.
• Put them together in your favorite photo app for a “highlight reel” of your life over the last six to twelve months.
• I did mine in Adobe Bridge, and created a pdf document. You could do it in any photo software, or even find a collage maker online and make a large collage for yourself.

This taught me I have so much for which to be grateful, even over the last few months that have felt so fraught with wildfires, pandemic, job changes, and political upheaval.

What about you, Dear Reader? What are your favorite tools to survive the “Holidaze?”

—

“My own experience has taught me this: if you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured it may never arrive.”
~ Maurice Chevalier

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