I have to admit that I have not been myself since hitting my head in July. After several weeks of recovery, I finally felt well enough to get back to volleyball. On the first night out, in early September, I blew my rotator cuff and have been sidelined ever since. Between the two injuries, I have found myself struggling to do simple things like get something from high up on a shelf or reach back for something in the back seat. Needless to say any thing that requires any amount of strength or a large range of motion has pretty much been impossible. My house is neglected, my projects shelved and my motivation at an all time low. I feel frustrated and generally speaking, I’m just not myself. I miss blogging, but to be honest, I don’t have much to say these days. I’m working hard at school, but by the time I get home from work and running the kids to their activities, I’m literally out of gas. Most of my days off have consisted of making lists of the things I need to get done, but with very little actually getting accomplished. It just isn’t like me.

Buy Christmas Tree: ✔︎

I have to admit, I have been pretty slow to embrace the Christmas spirit this year and the little bit of shopping I have done has been online. I can’t even imagine braving the lines in the mall.  I’m usually super organized and done my shopping before most people even start, but not this year. I was even dreading the annual Christmas tree shopping trip. Although I have mellowed over the years, it doesn’t seem like that long ago that picking out a tree was at least a 4 hour event. This wouldn’t be bad if we actually trudged into the forest with an axe in hand and chopped down our own tree, but it seems a little ridiculous when we were shopping the tree lots. It was not uncommon for me to haul the family to 4 or 5 lots in search of the perfect tree, only to decide that the best one was at the first lot. (I can’t actually believe my husband condoned this behaviour.) It is however a testament to the type of radical Christmas fanatic I’ve always been. I have always loved Christmas….the shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating, entertaining and making crafts. However, my attitude this year seems to be more of do what has to get done and with the least amount of effort possible. I even bought cookies for the event I had on this evening. To date, I have not stepped into a mall, but have gotten a few gifts to get me started through online shopping, our church craft sale and a gift card fundraiser my son’s hockey team did. I’ve done no baking or crafting, but did muster up the motivation to remove the rag wreath I made last year from the plastic bag and hang it on the nail that is still stuck in my door from last year. (That was my big accomplishment on my last day off….UGH!) You can imagine how surprised my family was when we managed to park, scan the tree lot, pick a tree, pay and strap it on the roof within 6 minutes! I have to admit I went in to it with less of a “its all about tradition” and “let’s embrace the process” type of attitude and more of a “how fast can we complete this mission” kind of thinking. My daughter wasn’t even with us, but I did check with her to see if she minded if we picked-up a tree without her.

With the tree thawing in the living room and the scent of Douglas Fur filling the house, I managed to make a grocery list in hopes of actually getting some baking done. I’m sure that the holidays will provide me with the time I need to recharge my batteries. Until then, I will plug away doing what needs to get done to prepare for Christmas. At least I can say that I have checked one thing off the list of “to do’s”. (I wonder how long the tree will sit in the mop pail in the living room before we actually set it up and decorate it?)

Our church celebrates Christmas every Sunday in December with carols and children performing each week. I’m sure that tomorrow will help to get me into the spirit of the season. If you are looking for a great way to get into the Christmas Spirit, why not check out Springs Church….you’re sure to be impressed!

If you’re interested in some great Christmas crafts, baking, decorating or gift wrapping ideas, check-out the “All Things Christmas” section of my blog.