Reflecting on the business of our lives when we were forming traditions for our children and carting them from activity to activity - our pace was exhausting. Not wanting to keep this speed we came up with a plan and started with simplifying Christmas. When our children were in their middle school years we paused and asked each one of them to list all the Christmas traditions that they enjoyed in our family. Every wonderful detail to a perfect Christmas that they did not list - we eliminated! What a refreshing lift that was. Let's just look at cookies - a long time tradition that goes back generations. We make 5-6 verities and display them on trays for parties during the Holiday's. It was a wonderful tradition that my kids just loved, all the types, colors and flavors. Or so I thought, to my surprise they all, individually only mentioned ONE cookie. Wait - WHAT?!?! What about the variety they loved, the colors, the flavors, oh right...that was only what we thought they loved. So, we simplified - now during the holidays we have ONE cookie type. And guess what, everyone loves it! It is simple, fun and now we are known for our Almond Deliciousness (as we fondly named it). We have passed this recipe to many friends and family, and it is now a must have for many when they visit over the holidays.
There were many other traditions that we thought were so very important and time consuming to prepare, that turns out was just busy work. The more we eliminate the busy, the more we have time for what really matters. For us it is the people in our home, our lives, and our story.
It takes intentionality and practice to live simply, for me it starts with a simple question. "What is my best yes?" (Lisa TerKeurst)
My desire is to slow down and simply enjoy the journey.
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