School of Decorating

Decorate with Confidence and Create a Home You Love

  • Free Class
  • Videos
  • Blog
    • How to Decorate
    • Simple DIY Projects
    • Life Tips
    • Success Stories
    • Our Home Tour
  • Classes
  • About
  • Contact

This Was Not Our Christmas Card, But It Should Have Been

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, on purchases made after following an affiliate link. See my full disclosure here.

December 24, 2014 By Jackie

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Painting 2014 | tealandlime.com

This was not our Christmas card. We already mailed cards before this little painting came about. But I wish we had used this, because it’s cute and it reminds me of a special moment with my boys.

We’re currently taking the longest holiday break ever. It wasn’t planned but two weeks ago the boys started passing one illness after another back and forth like hot potato. One or both of them has been home from school every day since. Officially making a two week holiday break more like four weeks by the time they go back to the school in the new year.

One day we snuggled up in bed to watch a movie and I played with a new-to-me iPad app, Paper by Fifty Three. I’ve always loved drawing, even though I am not good at it and can’t ever think of what to draw.

I’m positive the question I asked my dad most frequently as a kid was, “Dad, what should I draw?” It’s super frustrating to stare at a blank page eager to draw without a clue what to draw. Dad always answered, “A firetruck.”

Anyway that day I asked my boys what to draw and in unison they said, “me”. I scribbled on my iPad until I had something that resembled both boys and our two fur babies, Sofia and Ryder. The boys sat over my shoulder and watched the whole time to see every line unfold and took great delight in giving me color suggestions.

A few days later they wanted me to draw again. This time I duplicated my original and gave it some holiday flare—I told them I was Christmas-ifying their picture. Again they were delighted to watch me doodle.

These pre-holiday sick days and sweet doodling moments brought me full circle to my word of the year—relish. I started out the year with one goal; to relish the small moments. Relish in the sweet, the unplanned and unexpected, the good stuff of life.

How To Make a Felt Engraved Pillow | Teal & Lime for Makelyhome.com

To be fair, I am horrible at relishing. As a recovering perfectionist and over(anxious)-planner, it’s hard for me to be in the moment. To simply be and enjoy. My brain is always working a few steps ahead.

The word relish alone wasn’t enough to remind me to stop and soak it in every once and a while, so I had a quote to keep me on track.

The only person you have to be better than is the person you were yesterday. – Unknown

This quote could be interpreted to mean don’t worry about the competition, the only one you’re competing against is yourself, or keep your eyes on your own paper. I believe in all of those, but I took it a little differently…

It reminds me of something a health coach told me about meditating. Which I told her I tried, but couldn’t get into. Well, when you first start meditating it’s hard to focus. And many people give up. She told me not to judge myself on how well I meditated, but to celebrate trying. Because the trick is to just keep trying. Little by little your focus improves and you can focus longer and longer.

To me being better than the person you were yesterday is continuing to try and little by little getting better. So this year, little by little I’ve been trying to relish.

My big test was when both boys were home for 12-weeks straight this summer, no camps or daycare. Meanwhile I took on my biggest project to-date to build and launch an online school. There were many times I felt my work jeopardizing how present I was with the boys. Each day I tried to be a little better. Waking early in the morning to relish in my work before the boys woke, so I could spend the day relishing in them…extra karate classes, impromptu picnics in the park, and splashing in the neighborhood pool.

By the end of the summer, I’ll be honest, I was itching for school to start, so I could spend more time on my work. It’s a constant balancing act. But I wouldn’t trade my summer with the boys for anything.

Trying each day to relish a little bit more didn’t seem like it would ever amount to much. But a year later it’s added up to less time on my phone, almost never working in the evenings anymore, and relishing in the unexpected when sick days turn into sick weeks. And somehow (probably not coincidentally) I am producing some of my best work while still feeling like a good mom.

Okay, it’s time to get back to relishing. Today we hope to finish Double Fudge by Judy Blume, wrap a bunch of presents, and spend Christmas Eve with my family.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and spend your days relishing in the special moments with your loved ones.

UPDATE: I choose a guiding word for my home every year. Relish is the word I chose for 2015. Check out my new guiding word for 2018 and see how I’m displaying it in my home.

Warmly,
Jackie

Previous Post
All Your Fabric Questions Answered
Next Post
My Hidden Clutter Problem and the Book Giving Me Hope

Comments

  1. Erin says

    December 29, 2014 at 3:23 pm

    I tried for years to “slow down,” “stop and smell the roses,” “relish,” “meditate when you wake up,” “meditate before you go to bed,” etc.

    All the articles said we should be doing those things, they were healthy. But I found trying to slow down more stressful than living life at my own pace!

    I realized, I’m not wired to slow down! It’s not the pace of my life that stresses me out. I enjoy being busy and working on projects and goals. “Getting things done” is how I relish in life. It sounds like you are the same way.

    What was stressful was when I expected my family to keep up with me. I now don’t heave sighs if my husband is on his phone or watching sports while I’m working on something. I like piddling around the house and he doesn’t, so if he’s relaxing while I’m folding laundry, that’s okay. I like folding laundry, I just had to admit it. ;-) And I make sure the kids have lots of unstructured time to just be kids, even though my inclination might be to keep them busier.

    • Jackie says

      December 30, 2014 at 11:29 am

      Erin, you always have a way to put in words what I cannot.

      I learned this year that there is a time to relish and take a break, but I too am wired to go, go, go. You are so right about not controlling the family…mine is the same way. I have to be producing or have finished something before I can relax. I used to get frustrated when others were sitting around, but I realized they aren’t wired the same way. My hubby wakes early and does a gazillion things before I roll out of bed. So I kind of have to give him a pass when I am in high-gear in the evening and he’s relaxing. We are on different shifts.

  2. Anna Mack Severn says

    December 29, 2014 at 9:14 pm

    Oh Lordy I’m right there with ya! I was just thinking I this very same blog topic and wrote my latest post about why we have up Christmas presents. I’m a little nervous to have said it out loud but it’s really all about relishing:) great post and happy holidays Jackie!

Hi, I'm Jackie. I believe you are the best person to decorate your home and I'm here to help.

I teach online decorating classes to help you create your dream home. Click on the images below to learn more about each class.

Take an Online Decorating Class

Best for beginners!

12 Class Bundle!

Get a free copy of my book
Free Decorating


Start reading now...

Follow Me Here

Categories

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour
I believe you are the best person to decorate your home. You just need a dash of courage and a dose of decorating know-how. That's why I created School of Decorating.

I know how frustrating it is to feel like failure at home. I also know how amazing it feels when decorating finally makes sense and your home reflects you. I want to share what I've learned so you can create a home you love without years of trial and error.

Get a free copy of my best-selling book Free Decorating

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour

© 2018 School of Decorating
 · Terms of Use 
· Privacy Policy
 · Disclaimer




This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.