Choose peace...
We are having a rare 60 degree November day here in the mountains...and it feels somewhat glorious :) The ski areas are opening, so while I am anxious to get out on the hill, I know that a lot of cold months lay between now and next summer...so I am embracing it!
I wanted to share a thought from a friend of mine that really stuck with me this week.
Let me lead off by saying that I LOVE this time of year. Bring on the cozy clothes, hot meals, dark evenings, and time with family and friends. I hung our Christmas lights outside yesterday for goodness sake (which may have had more to do with the fact that it was SO beautiful and I didn't need to wear gloves...ha!). Having kids makes this time of year even more magical...the awe is real. That being said, in the past I have found myself over-doing the holidays. Not an uncommon thing from what I've gleaned from other parents. It is so easy to say yes to everything and end up a burned out, exhausted mess.
So back to that thought...choose peace. When you can, before you commit to path A or B, take a second to really ask yourself which will leave you with the most peace.
For example - this morning we were (miraculously) ready for school 20 min early. My instinct was that we should run to Lowe's real quick and knock out a quick errand before we went to school. I'm a chronic do-er! Before I made the decision, I stopped for a minute and thought about whether that would really leave me feeling peaceful and relaxed, or if I was going to take this gift of a non-rushed morning and throw it out the window by over-complicating it. I then thought about how awesome it would be if we got to school early so that Reagan could play on the swings before school, just like we used to do before school last year. So that is what we did. We had a low stress drive to school, chatted while we walked out to the playground and she was on the swing for 15 min and had time to play with her friends before school started. No rush...no stress...and simple.
Something to keep in the back of your mind as we head into the holidays...if you really want to enjoy this magical time of year, the best way to do it is to slow down enough that you can actually pay attention to what is going on. It is a beautiful thing.
If you are looking for some fun with your kiddos...we have drop-in Baby Bird Art tomorrow (Wednesday 11/9)! The kiddos will be working with CLAY this week! So fun! Here is a photo from our PAINT class last week:
Our next Lil' Chefs class is on Thursday, 11/10 - we will be making Nutella and fruit pitas! This is a great way to head-off the snack requests...we've got you covered! If you have a membership it is just $5 to participate in the snack!
More in the mood for an evening event? Join us on Thursday evenings for Lego Happy Hour! We'll have a bunch of Legos in the cafe area and adults enjoy 10% off at the Wild and Free bar. This is a weekly event from 4p - 6p and we had a great crew last week!
We are working on more evening events for the coming months, so stay tuned! Enjoy the beautiful day and I look forward to seeing you soon!
Stay Wild and Free (and choose peace!),
Michelle