The end of the summer months is here, and the “Brrr” Months are on their way to bring in fall and winter with all the trappings: September, October, November, and December.
Not only do these come with the changing of the seasons, but also with so many events, holidays, and observances that it is hard to keep track of everything. It is even harder to keep up with how quickly they come and go and still have time to enjoy them for what they are.
This last third of the year always goes by faster than the first eight months combined, and that can seem pretty overwhelming. This is how I manage (or at least try to in theory) the “Brrr” months one by one:
September Is for Preparing
Fall is officially starting, so I use September to gear up for the next three months… all with their own holiday and observance madness. It is this month when we really start to see the Halloween and Christmas season decorations pop up. I used to think that was too early. Now I realize, from a crafty point of view, you want to start buying items you know you’ll need before the last-minute shopping madness hits. It takes time to gather and make things.
Also, I use it to compile lists, both written and in my head. I make lists of what people want for the holiday season and what costume ideas we are all planning. Are we working at any school or church events this year? How much money can we spend this season?
I love decorating for all the holidays, so September is when I start hunting for ideas.
As the holidays approach, I try to think ahead as much as possible.
October Is for Celebrating
October and Halloween is coming! This is my favorite month of the year! There are so many cool events for both harvests and haunts planned this month. If you get enough done during September, you can enjoy whatever the weekends and darker evenings bring. I love the marketplaces and the haunted attractions. I love the community parties and family movie nights. October is filled with so many reasons to just have fun. I want to take advantage of as much as I can.
No one can make it to everything that is happening. We’ll try, though, because this is the time to join the party.
November Is for Resting
Thanksgiving is a low-key holiday for us, so I try to keep things calmer before the extremely busy Christmas and winter holiday season. The decorations get very, very subtle and more “quiet,” and we tend to spend a lot of time on peaceful fall walks enjoying the fall atmosphere. There is a little planning going on, as I look at what I need to catch up on before December. This is usually when we ask our daughters if there’s something interesting they want for Christmas and see if it is something doable. Luckily they often like weird and inexpensive things.
Mostly, however, we try to relax, and even limit how much we do on Thanksgiving Day. I know some people love to have their big family gathering during Thanksgiving, and that’s a wonderful thing. I have friends who are at their happiest when they are surrounded by many people they love.
I need that rest and small family time, especially since the next month will not be a quiet one… for anyone.
December Is for Reflecting
December does have elements of the other Brrr month. There is some unexpected planning, a lot of celebrating, and, if we’re lucky, the occasional resting days. Yet, the big thing I tend to do this final month of the year is reflect on all the past events, ideas, plans, wins, and losses of the year.
I think back on what I did this year that I could make better. I think about cool things that happened and that I want to do again. I think about how much my family grew and changed over the year.
I think way too much about the sad times, and I need to remind myself to reflect on the happy times. Most in the forefront of my thoughts is reflecting on the events of the past three months and all the unique aspects of each.
I find myself really reflecting on the past year after a very busy time. We’ll come home from a gathering or finally see the last visitor home. I’ll sit on the sofa with the sparkling tree nearby and just start thinking about everything. Sometimes I have to drag my thoughts away from things I had no control over, but other times I reflect on opportunities to make my own future and my family’s just a little better next year.
Whether you like it or not, and regardless of what you celebrate or don’t, things are about to get very busy and very lively. You can’t always avoid every obligation, and you can’t make it to every seasonal event you want to hit. You can’t solve every problem, nor can you always prevent unfortunate things from happening.
Yet, if we take it one month at a time, maybe things will slow down to a reasonable pace and make these final four months of the year a couple of seasons we can remem-brrr with happiness.
