We've arrived at the last month of what has felt like the longest year. I feel...wrung out. I had to go back and read blog posts from January and February to remind myself what the beginning of the year felt like before we were staying home. So full of hope and excitement for the auspicious-sounding year of 2020. And then...plot twist!

Although the year brought a lot of hard it also brought me and our family a lot of joy. Primarily in the form of our happy, sweet, chunky Maeve. What a bright spot in this crazy year. Taking care of a baby can be hard but it can also be deeply satisfying work. When the world felt unpredictable and scary I could focus on changing the next diaper, nursing, and rocking Maeve to sleep. She has been an anchor during a year when so much of what I had come to depend on was adrift.

Even though the holidays look different this year, most of what I love about the holidays will be the same: decorating our house, welcoming a live evergreen tree into our home, enjoying holiday treats, reading Christmas books with the boys, having a break from school (thank goodness!) and for Chris from work, celebrating my birthday and then Cedric's. I'm going to soak it all in. Or as much as I can with the bandwidth I have left!

I'm feeling cautiously hopeful for 2021. There will be a new president. And so far there are three promising vaccines for COVID-19. (Thank you, thank you to the scientist and doctors who have worked tirelessly to create them.) However, I'm not feeling the same surge of bubbling energy that I usually do heading into a new year. I can't help but brainstorm things to do and accomplish but also I just feel kind of tired. I'm trying to reflect on these feelings and balance planning for a new year while also giving myself space to get through the rest of the pandemic and recover from this hard, crazy time.

Big things happening in December:

+ My birthday. 37!

+ Christmas.

+ Cedric's birthday. 6!! I can't believe it. Do I say that every year? He has requested a three layer cake with strawberry, chocolate, and birthday cake flavor layers with chocolate frosting. On the top Ninja Turtles should be battling ninjas. Okay then! I'm actually kind of excited to create this cake for him. My sweet Christmas baby.

+ New Year's Eve. We love being home for New Year's Eve so nothing different there. Usually the boys are happily engaged with Christmas toys so Chris and I work on a puzzle. We'll see what Maeve has to say about that. I love to snack on appetizers with maybe a hearty soup or bean chili for dinner. This year we'll also plan to enjoy a fire in the backyard around our new fire pit.

December goals:

+ Finish Christmas prep by December 10. This includes all shopping, wrapping, prepping, and shipping. Usually I dedicate a couple of weekdays (while I'm home alone) to this task but that will have to look different this year. Nearly all of my shopping is done and I've even started wrapping. I plan to try to do a little bit in the evenings to get things done.

+ Write letters to Georgia voters. I really enjoyed writing letters with Vote Forward before the presidential election. This month I plan to write letters encouraging voters in Georgia to vote in their upcoming senate runoff elections.

+ Taking time to plan and dream for 2021. 

+ Take the day off for my birthday. I'd love to spend half the day writing at my parent's Arizona house and possibly buy a new houseplant at a store I've been wanting to visit.

Happy December, friends! This was a crazy and hard year. I hope you find rest and comfort this holiday season.