The Let Down

I've been feeling it a lot this week--the post-Christmas let down. I tried really REALLY hard this year to be merrier and to expand the season by beginning to listen to Christmas music mid-November since that's one of the only things that lifts my spirits. It worked...I took the time to enjoy wrapping, shopped on Cyber Monday to save some bucks, delegated much of the NJ travel to pick up gifts for the kids to our facilities departments, carved out space for me to chill and "be". I showed more restraint than in past years in the feasting area=good for my stomach. The weather helped a lot also, seeming to extend the fall warmth before blasting in arctic air that chaps my lips and numbs my toes.

I got into the car the day after Christmas to hit a sale and re-up on a few trimmings and BAM--the 24 hour Christmas music station I had been enjoying since Thanksgiving was suddenly back to doo-op music. As I walked Solomon around in the days following, those goofy blow up things in people's front yards were deflated, trash cans filled to the brim with bags of discarded wrappings, and all you saw on TV was New Years Day sales. Urgh...

Many folks went back to work today but I still have 3 days of "use it or lose it" time and will return to work on Thursday. I've spent much of my vacation purging drawers, closets, and cabinets in my constant attempt to simplify. I bought a bunch of plants and after I put away all the decorations (even purging those and keeping only what I absolutely love to put out or what holds deep sentimental value) I created a little "jungle" area by my front windows and set out new "life" around the downstairs. I watched a documentary, played endless games on Scrabble, read a few books, and worked on a project. Great.

January, February, and March are tough months...kind of "non-months"--the holidays aren't ones I hold dear, just extra days off. It's hard to plan and look forward to much--even work related--because "you never know what the weather will do". The only major event we have is the Young Professionals Sleep Out in March but I'm not in charge of it so I just recruit and do whatever else I'm told to make it happen. I seem to just long for the pink trees of April...

I was walking Solomon today and the thought occurred to me that there is always such a huge build up for Christmas--the shows, the songs, shopping, planning for parties and gatherings, traditions, etc. And then BOOM--done! All you look forward to are hoping you get every last pine needle out of the rug and that you can pay the bills. But why not the build up for Easter? To me--and this is my opinion--it's more important of a holiday than Christmas and one that I hold most sacred.

Easter is on March 27th this year (I'll confess, I don't really like a March Easter--I'd prefer it in April). The idea has been brewing in my mind all day to focus more on the season of Easter this year in order to make the colder months more bearable and to refocus myself. Ash Wednesday is February 10th. I've never been to an Ash Wednesday service or received ashes--it was always a "Catholic" thing in my mind but I know plenty of Protestant churches that do both. I've never successfully given up anything for Lent but I can begin to consider doing so. It is, after all, the season of penance and prayer prior to Easter. And if my focus is more on the reason for that season, how can I not experience a greater build up to the greatest day EVER?  The day Jesus rose from the dead?

I'm not 100% committed to this yet--it's just a thought but one I will do some research on and prayerfully consider but I'm leaning towards it. Although I did a quick Google search of songs for Lent and barely knew any of them. Perhaps I'll create my own playlist...