Published: Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012 / Updated: Monday, Nov. 19, 2012 06:46 PM
No shame in being lazy, at home
November is a time when we start to really get into the holiday spirit. We think of family and friends and all the things in our lives that we are thankful for. People (me being one of them) fill their Facebook statuses with words of thanks towards people, places and things and random acts of kindness are encouraged.
I love this time of year, and encourage many to keep that spirit all year long. In fact, I am going to continue to my daily thankful posts through 2013 (assuming the world doesn’t end in December, of course!). One of my favorite random acts of kindness is to pay for the person behind me in the Starbucks drive-thru. Some days, it’s not much, just $3, some days it’s more, but I drive off hoping that whomever I’ve helped will pay it forward that day to someone else.
Sending goodness into the world one latte at a time, that’s me.
Of course, we also have other events to look forward to these next couple of months, the first being the Thanksgiving holiday. Who doesn’t look forward to a day of stuffing their mouths until they have to unbutton their pants? I know I do. In fact, I take it one step further and encourage my guests to not bother with pants that button. Just come in pajamas and really dig in!
This year, my husband and I made the decision to make Thanksgiving a small holiday. We’ll keep the family at home and not host anyone at our house and spend the day in our pajamas letting the kids watch movies while we put on the “X-Files” marathon. We’ll have dinner with friends and then come home to a quiet home and some time to relax knowing we have a few more days before work and school start up again.
I know this is not the norm. Thanksgiving is traditionally a family holiday with a house full of guests. Believe me, I love those Thanksgivings, they are super fun, but this year, we just wanted to take it down a notch. You see, living in Seattle as long as we did, we got used to having small Thanksgiving holidays. We enjoyed making enough food for 30 and then having leftovers for a week or so. We enjoyed the time with our kids and the quiet time at night.
Most of all, we enjoyed not really getting dressed. It’s the little things that are awesome around our house, like pajama pants and a warm sweatshirt.
So, this year, take some time for yourself and your family. Whether it is Thanksgiving Day or the days before or following, take the day off, and just enjoy being lazy with your friends, partner, and/or kids. Take the day off from having to leave the house to run errands or visit the stores, and just chill.
Think of ways you and your family can pay it forward during the holiday season and into the new year, while eating chips and dip in your comfy clothes.
Beth writes from her home in between diaper changes and snack requests. She lives in Fort Mill with her husband and four small children. Read more of her writing at www.thellamasdrama.blogspot.com