It is almost the end of the year, and that means my bones are getting too lazy for my own good!

My heart is in not-doing-much.

But guess what, life is going on as “almost” normal.

School and work is on. I still have places to show up. And people still need to eat and get up on time.

So the idea of Monday Grace has morphed into December Grace. I am giving myself space to take my time doing things all this month. And letting things go a little bit too.

And that’s ok.

I know once the holiday fever is over- sometime in the middle of January, I will be back with my excitement for doing things, and doing them well. But for now, I am already on my “break”. It’s funny how that happens.

But what can I do?

I can either chide myself for being slow and not accomplishing much. I can call myself names. I can be mean.

But I have to live with myself for all of this life. In that case, it’s better to make friends and stay friends, right?

So, instead, I am going to cherish my slow time with myself. I will be accepting that after being frantically working, this is the time of lull.

I will do things that I really want to do- get a massage, sleep in, cook bigger batches for more days of leftovers, read more, watch more TV.

I will do less of what I don’t need to do or want to do- not clean much, not go for a walk when it’s rainy and windy just because I always do, not reply to every email right that minute, not get every blog post planned and written perfectly…

You get the idea.

With my “extended” holidays, I want to dream and plan my new year. I want to think of projects to do. I want to look back at my reading from this year, and remember which books I enjoyed. I want to look at the photos from 2024 and re-live the memories. 

I want to just slow down. I want to take this special time of the year, and actually make it special for myself. Because, I can’t seem to function otherwise.

And with this slow season of life and all the other adventures it brings, it will stand out for me. And I will think of this time with fondness.

Maybe I need to do this every year where hustle goes out the window and slowness is welcomed. Maybe December could be a time of “vacation” from the daily grind in this small way where expectations are thrown away. 

Maybe it’s time to renew that special friendship with myself, where kindness and slowness are the words to embrace.