Today is the last day in November, another month that has seemed to fly by. And tomorrow is the first day of December, a month focused on the holiday season. While I haven’t put any Christmas decorations up as of yet, I know the mindset for the month ahead.
Thanksgiving wasn’t especially over-joyful, but it was nice to be off work for a while. I’m starting back to teaching tomorrow and will work each of the school days in December. After the first of the calendar year, I’ll be starting another assignment at another school that will last until the end of the school year, so I know that my days off in December will be important for rest and self-care.
So just for today, I’m taking some time to read and write and reflect on what this year has brought and look at what is in line for the year ahead. And while I don’t have a crystal ball to predict the future, I know that there may be many peaks and valleys, as any year will hold.
I will make a promise to myself to keep a positive focus and not let what goes on outside me dictate how I practice self-care and most importantly, love for myself. It is from following through with those things that I’m able to love and help others. Often in life I haven’t remembered that fact.
So this afternoon I’ll be cleaning my house in earnest. I’ve been putting it off long enough and my house isn’t that large, so it’s not like some monumental task. When you don’t have anyone visiting, you can get complacent and not care what your environment looks like. It’s been shown that unorganized surroundings do have an effect on your mental outlook, so I’ll be keeping this in mind as I work this afternoon. Definitely going to crank up some tunes to make the work go faster.
So that is where I’m at today. At least for now, the extreme sadness of the past week is gone and I can focus on making things brighter and more organized.
David Lee
David Lee 