Well, I said this day would come and I would be both depressed and shocked that the holiday flew by, but here we are. Not only do Monday's suck, but the Monday following a holiday
REALLY SUCKS! I remember when I worked in an office how the first hour of this work day consisted of trading stories about holiday travels, great meals, crazy guests and how tough it was to get back into the groove. As someone who has a home office, this day is actually even worse because all I want to do is sweep Christmas under the rug and MOVE ON, but everywhere I turn, there it is. This day is also a little strange because my assistant, Canyon, is no longer here to help me trudge through the muddy mess of everything I've ignored since before Thanksgiving. While I will never forget her, it is time for me to start redefining what life is like without her, and to help in that process I will do one of my favorite things...GET ORGANIZED! I've said this before and I'll say it again, I don't understand resolutions because, to me, they seem like a recipe for failure. Instead, my friends, may I suggest you resolve to do ONE thing different each day? If you tackled a project in the summer but abandoned it and feel terrible for doing so, go back to it. Forgot to write a thank you note for the gift someone gave you months ago? Write them a letter today and tell them how much you appreciate whatever they did for you. Haven't put that set of dishes on eBay yet? How about creating an account on eBay today, then you will be one step closer to reaching that goal. The key; don't beat yourself up for being human. I like to use this time of year to organize one very important area in our home...the Christmas decoration storage area. Yes, I say "area" because we have WAYYYYY too much, as was evident to me yesterday when I took two of five trees down, stored several ornaments, disassembled my table-scape, and to my surprise the house looked like I had just decorated for the holidays! Joe appeared from an afternoon of lazy TV-watching and said, "whatcha doin?" as my efforts hadn't taken the smallest of dents out of my Christmas-explosion. But I don't mind. I love the holiday and all of the glitz, glamour and junk that accompanies it, and putting it all back allows me to take inventory of what we have, what we can possibly get rid of and most importantly, how to store it in a safe, organized way. I've shared this little tip many times before and I'm doing it again, because as I stare at our living room tree..Canyon's tree...I'm completely overwhelmed. So, just like attacking a home project, I'm breaking it down into its tiny bits, starting with the lights. To store them so they're ready to shine next year, I cut cardboard pieces wide enough to fit in my plastic bins, then wrap the lights around them. Next November when I'm ready to bring out the trees, I'll be able to put it all up with ease!
PAW PRINTS ON YOUR HEART...
While we gather up the pieces of the holiday and move on into the new year, I came across an unopened card someone sent last week following Canyon's death. Through tear-filled eyes, the one line I focussed on was, "dogs leave paw prints on our hearts" and that couldn't be more true of our precious Canyon. Heck, she left paw prints on our sofas, rugs, wood floors, beds and any and everything in our home...but that's okay. Allowing love into your life means making room for the messy stuff too, so as I resolve to get our home organized this week I've also decided to let many of the things we gave Canyon go onto other less fortunate puppies. While in no way am I trying to erase her from our home, the things we cannot use...unopened treats, unused expensive medication, blankets, etc... can change the life of a rescue in need. So, I called our local pet rescue center and will donate the items Canyon adored, to help other puppies feel loved. (if you can, donate to your local SPCA by googling your county and SPCA. ours is www.dcspca.org)
