Holiday Greetings Friends, This is the final Sunday newsletter of 2024, and with it comes a bit of reflection. ‘Tis the season, after all.  I’m writing to you on December 21st, the
longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice.  Both personally and professionally, 2024 has been a long year. Overall, it was a good year, but one that’s left me a bit worn out. I know I’m not alone in this feeling.  A lot of ups and downs were packed into the last year.And a lot of hard work, too. We moved house last March, and it’s only this past week that I feel as though we have finally settled into our home.  My boys share
a bedroom. When we first moved in, I had this grand idea that Captain’s beds (the ones with the drawers underneath them) would save space and keep their room a bit more organized. They’re teenagers, ‘nuf said. It turns out Captain’s beds are great in theory, less so in our space. The footprint of the beds was too large, making the layout awkward. The whole room felt cramped. In November, in a moment of frustration, I decided to list the beds on Facebook Marketplace and come up with a better solution for the small
bedroom. Once the giant Captain’s beds were gone, I began to see the potential of the space.I realized that what was needed were simple bed frames, vertical storage space, and some sort of display cabinet with glass doors to keep the boys’ LEGO builds safe from curious kittens. (RIP Darth Vader helmet.)  I spent most of the last few days assembling a library wall in their bedroom -- shelves and drawers and cupboards and more shelves.  Two wall lamps moved in. A giant papasan and an old cubby unit moved out. (My toe is bruised from dropping the cubby unit on it.) But Friday afternoon, when everything was finished, I stood back and looked at a room that was utterly transformed.Instead of a cluttered, messy space that the boys didn’t want to spend time in, there was a tidy bedroom that felt twice as large as before.  The wall lamps cast warm light across their beds. The LEGO International Space Station is safely ensconced behind glass doors, away from prying paws. Everything has a space where it belongs, and the boys are more comfortable in the new setup. And that’s the lesson I’d like to share with you. It’s one I’ve struggled with many times in the past year and beyond. So often, we hold onto ideas, patterns, or habits that no longer serve us. When we’ve put so much time, effort and sometimes money into something, it can be hard to admit that maybe it’s not working out the way we had
hoped.  But no, we think, this is a great plan, and so we keep trudging on, even though our idea hasn’t really led to the outcome we needed or wanted.  I thought those Captain’s beds were going to be the answer to our space problem. I was sure of it.  In the end, it was only when I was willing to let them go and see the bedroom with fresh eyes that I was able to come up with a truly functional and beautiful solution.  I’m getting much better at allowing myself to acknowledge that, yes, this was a great idea, but the end concept isn’t working, and yes, it’s okay to scrap it and
start over.  The Winter Solstice is meant to be a time of reflection, a time to release the things we don’t want to carry into the new year and a time to set intentions for the lengthening days ahead. Are there things that, despite your best efforts, just aren’t working out how you had hoped?My holiday wish for you, my friends, is that you allow yourself to let go of the things that aren’t working, and in doing so, you will be able to see a new path forward. As we head into the New Year, I hope that you can experience the freedom and joy
that comes from letting go.  Did you miss a newsletter or want to read a few for inspiration? Find past newsletters here. Don't forget to check out our Facebook page for daily updates. That's all for this year, Rural Sprout Readers. |
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