Winding Down for the Holidays

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Our schedules are slowing down. Some. Our varsity team has ended the football season. Now it’s all about basketball and cheer competition. Work has been slowing down in some areas, but it also ramps up with many year-end tasks. We’ve had a lot of change in a short period too so everyone is ready for a break.

📸: School Website

The holidays will probably look a bit different for us this year. It’s both exciting and bittersweet. We don’t have a lot of plans, and we’ve scaled back on who we’ll visit if any visits take place at all this year. I’m hoping we don’t have to do much. And I’m actually looking forward to just being home for the most part.

This week, I found out the average cost of daycare in our area, and now I know why people don’t have more kids. I mean, I had an idea, but it wasn’t a reality I had to deal with, you know? Anyway, I get that childcare is a major undertaking and that's why it can cost a lot. I just don’t know how families can afford it these days. Especially when you know the average salaries for your area. I’m looking at ⅓ of my paycheck going to daycare costs alone. And that's IF we can get off any of the five waitlists that we are on. Yes, that is every daycare in our area.

Today, I have to wrap a few things up at work, and then we have some last-minute things to take care of when I get home this afternoon. I plan to do quite a bit of cleaning over the weekend too. Then it’s just prepping for my next doctor’s appointment on Monday, and finishing out the week before Thanksgiving Break. I'm glad things are going to be slower over the next few days. Until the next post...🦃

Wordless Wednesday

 

Hello, November

This year, October and Halloween looked different for us. Still my favorite month and holiday. I had to sit on the sidelines a lot. And I didn't really feel like decorating either. Instead, I just soaked up the vibes. I feel like October is always a "refreshing" month for me, and while I didn't get to do my normal Fall cleaning/decluttering this year I still felt like it was a transitional month.

📷: Credit

Personally, November is looking to be the month of prepping and rest. Soaking up the last few weeks before our lives really change. I'm trying to not stress so much about the little things, and enjoy my time with my family. So far, November has brought several days of rain —which I love— and another stray dog (which is not ideal). The time change also happened over the weekend, and well, our household is not a fan. But the silver lining is that we had some cool weather move in and I am here for it! If we could get some even colder weather by the time we get to the end of the month, that would be great

Professionally, November is serving as a time to “wrap things up.” Create TEAMS folders and upload documents. Train the person taking on some of my tasks while I’m out. Update instruction sheets, and assign delegates for internal approval routes. Refresh any recurring meetings with updated information. And making sure that catering is taken care of while I’m out. It’s basically a whole month of checklists. And while I am all for checklists, to-do lists, and color coding - my brain has been on the fritz lately. This is why it's taking me longer to finish things.

All of that said, I'm ready for this change in season. Emery's about to start working on her permit, and she's closing in on the end of year 14 - can you believe it? I'm both sad and excited about it. I'm ready to meet our little guy. Ready to not have so much physical discomfort. To start healing and feeling more like myself. And I'm just doing my best to take things one day at a time. Savoring all of the little moments when I can. So, here's to November! And to a wonderful start to the fall season. 🍂