Slow. Slowing down. Slow and steady. All things that have been sitting percolating in my brain since covid forced most of us to slow down whether we wanted to or not this year. In Australia the borders between the states are closing again and with all our people in different states to us the decision of whether to have Christmas together would have been taken from us even if we hadn’t already made it.

For us we decided on a Slow Christmas this year. Our family has multiple members in the middle of short term contracts, new jobs and responsibilities that didn’t allow for extra time off and that would have meant flying time pressured visits at Christmas to “have fun and enjoy time together” Except it wouldn’t have been that at all. It would have been rushed and frenetic and smooshed in between hours of travelling and prepping.

So we decided weeks ago to just not do that to ourselves. We can catch up at a later time and have all spent the few days we have off doing our own things in our own states. Going for walks, eating, playing games and reading, watching movies and swimming. Chatting and catching up, doing facetime on the media platforms for a little bit. It’s been a slow Christmas for all of us and we’ve loved it because we all have gotten a few days to just relax. Naps and sleep ins have been taken in abundance and we’ve still gotten to see each others beautiful, relaxed, faces

Slow is something I’m going to be exploring much more next year. It’s the lesson that has emerged from 2020 for me. That I thrive and do better the simpler things are, focusing on less things and slowing right down. Simplifying even more is a goal for me. I find though that I usually get more done by slowing down. It seems a contradiction. I’ve been putting that more into action & we put it into action this season. Choosing not to make what would have been for us this particular Christmas a whirling dervish of rush and anxiety. As a result we’re heading into the end of the year a little more refreshed and rested.

From our family to yours. The happiest of Seasons greetings to you all. I hope you had a wonderful few days spent the way that rejuvenates you most. We’d love to hear how you spent your time in the comments below.