Weekly Goals

Last week, I skipped making a goals list. I felt like our Christmas activities were taking over our normal activities. To some extent, this is good and fine.

We went to three Christmas parties last week, delivered a couple of Christmas gifts, did some of our normally scheduled homeschooling, started our twelve-days-till-Christmas treat countdown, kept somewhat reasonably on top of chores, Skyped with Grandma, made holiday treats, and...mourned, grieved, felt devastated. It doesn't matter exactly how old the Newtown children (and adults) were in terms of how tragic their deaths were. It doesn't necessarily matter whether or not we have kids ourselves in terms of how awful the murders were. But Erik and I do have a first-grader. That, and looking at the photos of the children, and seeing where some of the parents requested memorial funds be sent, drives this home to me time and time again.

This week, I will make a goals list. Keeping a home running smoothly does help our children, I believe. (By the way, both of our children have no idea what happened to other children last week and don't seem to have noticed when I had tears streaming down my cheeks.)

This Week's Goals:

Christmas:

1. Assemble, sign, address, and send out the rest of our Christmas cards.
2. Put together gift packages for people we are sending gifts and put them in the mail (except for Erik's father and my father because they are both out of the country). (On a side note, my dad and his wife are on their yearly vacation to Fiji and don't have power due to cyclone Evan. I don't know exactly how they are doing since his last check-in two days ago. It's likely they are okay but don't have power and have to conserve and deal with that.)
2.5. Don't forget to put two of our already-received gift packages on our thank-you list so we remember to formally thank those people.

(On another side note, Nick keeps asking me to come see his "education program." He is carrying around one of our bills as his "education." When I went to attend his program, he ended up showing me how to put his pajama pants in the "washer" and press the button to "flush the water" to make them clean and dry.)

Knitting:

3. Finish Xander's mustang in time to give him for Christmas. (Its accessories will have to wait.)

Parenting:

4. Finish reading The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker.
5. Continue to be calm, understanding, and consistent with the boys.

Financial:

6. Stick to our eating-out-plus-groceries budget for this month.

Marriage:

7. Make time for quality time with Erik this week.

Personal:

8. Attend church. On Sunday and also possibly on Christmas Eve.

Cleaning:

9. Stay on top of the laundry and kitchen cleaning and try to get other regular chores done, like mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, and changing sheets.

I would like to do running and/or exercise and some homeschooling, but I am not going to put them on the list because I don't want to beat myself up if those don't happen. Xander has been getting plenty of writing, math, morals, manners, and literature practice and exposure just doing our regular Christmas activities.