Mardi Gras is Next Week!
Are you feeling overwhelmed, guilty for the list that never gets done? Feeling stressed? Take a deep breath…
It is February 20th and my Christmas Tree is still up. (Are you feeling better now?) Not because I didn’t attempt to put it away. I did. Last week. As we say in this house…. “don’t be judgie”. Are you being judgie of me? Be honest! What story are you telling yourself about me? Any good adjectives coming to your head? It’s ok — I really don’t mind. I have taken full ownership of the tree still being up.
I had removed the top of the tree and brought it to the basement. The middle and bottom are stuck. I enlisted the help of my son, before he was out the door. And the two of us, together attempted to get the tree apart. To no avail.
As he left – I had choices. For this past week, I simply ignored it. My daughter noticed the tree. “Mom, why is the tree still up? I thought you were putting it away.” I explained the dilemma of it being stuck and we can’t get it to the basement unless it is apart.
Her response was the best – oh, ok, we can just decorate it for Valentine’s day. It made my heart burst with love for her. No judging – accepting what is and coming up with a fun solution.
I realized with this tree dilemma. (Which eventually, I would like to put away). I had choices. We always have choices on how we respond or react…
- Leave it there, ignore it and live around it. (How often do we do this — tolerate something that isn’t serving us?)
- Feel guilty and berate myself for still having the Christmas tree up as spring approaches…. (Be honest — we are typically our worst critic. This approach rarely helps and only depletes our energy).
- Plop down on the floor with the tree and figure out why it is stuck and problem solve how to get it unstuck. I am capable of this – though my engagement in this activity is currently low. (I instead opted to finish painting some Ikea shelves — In honor of Sweden.) We can power through or not…
- I could begin a more intensive workout to build up my upper body strength and attempt again with my son. I have started but this will probably take longer than I would like.
- Ask for help. I could ask for help from those that may be taller and stronger than me. And would have a higher engagement in this activity than me. (Help is welcome :))
- Or I could enjoy the tree, worry about it next week and decorate it for Mardi Gras.
Happy Mardi Gras!
Maybe it will be down before March 1 – or I’ll have to break out the shamrocks.
