Sure, I know, you’ve said this before: “Next year I will not wait for the last minute.” However, we all know that life gets in the way. Some things cannot wait, such as laundry, eating, or sleeping—even if you’re a little short on all of those. Something has to give, and I promise you that it will be okay. Our last day of school is today, a full eight shopping days before Christmas. You may or may not take a big break for Christmas, but for our family, it is a time to regroup.

The workload is still there, along with the many things that must be accomplished each day. However, now we have a chance to take a break, go out for a bike ride or a walk, or just sit around and read a book! In between we will clean the house, do some last-minute decorations, and bake. (As you know, I *love* baking!)

On my to-do list was finishing the house decorations, since I always change out my door wreaths. Nothing super fancy—but pretty all the same. I have oversized front doors and each one has a hanging wreath that is evergreen (fake of course), with pine cones. Depending on the season, I decorate them with fake flowers, and it makes the house look so festive. Since I had totally forgotten about my front door wreaths, I just did them recently!

What is on your to-do list that you’ve forgotten? Now is the time to take a hard look, before the Christmas Eve rush sneaks up on you.

Marnie Swedberg gave us some great advice in the broadcast on Vintage Homeschool Moms—this information is so helpful in every season. You’ll want to listen to the audio and check out the handout for yourself, but for right now I want to share Marnie’s great idea that some traditions need to go! Why? Because no one cares.

Wow. Isn’t that earth-shattering? We may spend hours doing things that no one cares about—but if something is meaningful, by all means either do it, do it together, or delegate this task to the person who loves doing it.

In our family, that means I’m in charge of all the cookie dough prep, but when it comes time to bake the cookies, then everyone helps out: that includes washing cookie trays and sweeping the kitchen floor if needed.

We had a family tradition of home-made Christmas fudge, passed down from my husband’s grandmother, but since I didn’t care to continue that tradition, I passed the recipe on to my teenager. This turned into a win-win situation: Anne came through with flying colors and the Gerwitz household declared her fudge to be as good as Grandma Mart’s! (Gasp!) I’m happy the tradition continued and I am not the one making it!

What are your traditions? If  you want to keep them, how can you use teamwork or delegation to renew your energy?

Whatever you do, make sure you fill up with the Lord each day! What refreshes you? Recharge in short bursts if you can—another tidbit I learned from the interview with Marnie today!

May you find peace and joy today—that is my prayer for you! What is yours?