What are your plans for this holiday season? A bit of lying about? Or perhaps catching up on those things you can never quite get to during the year? Maybe you’re still working? Or perhaps you’re busy serving hoards of people who are doing the sitting around for you – otherwise known as children and other family members?
My family doesn’t really put that kind of pressure on me to serve them however I will be doing a bit of all of the other above-mentioned things and simultaneously I’ll also be utilising the break to catch my breath and hopefully reignite my creativity.
This year was tooooo busy (despite my testimony to the opposite). I remember someone told me that things just keep getting busier as your kids get older. I didn’t really believe it at the time but geez it’s true. Getting them to work and sport could take up my entire calendar – if I wasn’t also working full time as well.
I just had a few days away with the kids. Funny, I thought as they grew older they’d want less to do with me but as it turns out you really do get back what you put in. Even if I’m the butt of many jokes and prone to being morbidly embarrassing they still talk to me – that’s got to be a good thing !
There are a lot of jibes that go on, mostly at my expense. Just the other day I was trying to remember a TV show the older two used to watch together “she’s trying to relate” I heard the youngest say to the other two about me.
Thank goodness it’s the middle child who has offered to look after me when I’m old, the other two have already made it quite clear nursing homes are my only option looking forward.
I know they are growing up and in a few short months my eldest will move to Bathurst where he’s been accepted into a civil engineering course (so excited for him). So this place in time where we’re all still together and before things really change is just nice.
I’ve long since accepted I’m not the lolling about type, catching my breath involves seeing the people I haven’t had a chance to see during the busier months of the year (read February to December these days), getting something done around the house, diving into writing and undertaking some sort of project.
It only took me a few days to catch the writing bug this holiday and I was surprised to find how rusty I’ve become. I know from past experience that only practice will improve that.
There are a few projects I’ve got lined up around the house and as I consider them I realise it’s only a few years ago I had no idea, I mean nooo idea about the practicalities required of life. Turns out most of these things aren’t really that hard, they just require the investment of time and a good teacher (or YouTube) doesn’t go astray either. A massive turnaround for me it’s amazing what you think you cannot do if you’re told that often enough – that’s no longer an ailment I suffer.
So other than a bit of painting, some gardening and some home maintenance, this year I’ve found myself very passionate about a new holiday project – learning about the Zebra economy. It feels like a missing chunk of knowledge I have in the development of purpose-led businesses.
Sounds like work? Well, given it’s linking me to a whole new international community of similarly motivated people and the function of learning is encouraging me to indulge in my greatest passion – writing. I think it may be a good trade-off.
Knowing some friends will be interested in the Zebras (by the way, did you know a collective of zebra’s is called a dazzle – who knew!) I’ll write about it a bit more soon. In the meantime – hope you have a safe holiday season and spend the time doing things that really light you up. Very best wishes to you and yours.
