lim·bo
/ˈlimbō/
an uncertain period of awaiting a decision or resolution; an intermediate state or condition.
It is funny how every single year I forget that this period between Christmas and New Year even exists. These 6 days off usually tend to be days made of nothing much for us.
We generally make no plan, or at most, we make a list of things to do at home like declutter a room, build some new shelving, clear out wardrobes and sort out the kitchen cupboards and we usually end up doing none of it.
It is also a time, when we feel that starting healthy eating is ridiculous and the idea of exercising feels exhausting.
The teens spend most of their time catching up on sleep and their waking hours on a screen of some sort.
We, the parents, turn the blind eye and might even pull out a puzzle just to remember that we don’t have the patience to really get into it anyway.
So the puzzle ends up living on a table for days and pieces get lost, at which point we discuss the possibility of investing in a puzzle storage box. Then we clear the table, put it all back in its own box, dismissing any progress we might have made and forget about it until the following year. When we buy a new one, obviously (insert eye roll emoji).
We survive on leftovers, because who wants to meal plan and go grocery shopping so soon after having spent days preparing for a two day feast, blowing up the monthly food budget and “just popping” into busy grocery stores last minute way too many times because we forgot something crucial every.single.time.
So we all live on what is left on the cheese board and we tend to forget what life used to feel like when it wasn’t tasting of stilton and Port or everything made and covered in chocolate.
In a funny way, although we don’t do much I always have fond memories of that time of the year.
There is something quite magical in living a life without expectations or commitments and with plenty of time and head space to dream of what the year ahead might look like.
Every year, for the past few years, I have downloaded Susannah Conway’s workbook Unravel your Year and each year this has been a special time spent with myself.
These few hours revisiting the past, visualizing dreams, making plans and dusting off my Tarot cards is simply the best mood booster I get to experience all year.
I don’t believe that this time of the year is the only time you can do this but to me it surely is the perfect time for it. So I let the workbook guide me towards that future life and I allow myself to dream it BIG.
I pick a word too! A sort of theme for the year.
Last year has been a year of changes and upheavals and I had completely forgotten the word I had picked. Let’s say that 2022 turned out to be a year the Universe lined up all of my wishes and established beliefs and kicked them hard in the face while staring into the depth of my soul and said in a deep ominous voice “Think again Darling!”.
Going through the workbook this year brought back all the memories of doing the same last year and I suddenly remembered it as clearly as can be.
My word wasn’t one word, they were three: Surrender, Flow and Trust and I mean, can we take a minute to let all the hair raise on the back of my neck because there hasn’t been one year when I haven’t needed to follow these principles more!
I don’t think there has been a time in my life when I have needed to feel carried, held and looked after more than this year and it has manifested in the most delightful ways. It has shown itself in the beautiful bond my sister and I have built, the strongest we have ever had. In welcoming and embracing new members of the family. In the amazing support our friends have shown us, holding my hand, my head up and my drink through it all. And of course in how the four of us have felt stronger together.
So it has been some sort of a shit show at times but it has all been more than worth it in the end. And so I am now ready to make the most of the next couple of days contemplating what the future may hold and what I need to do to make Future Me, proud and happy. And I wish the same for you! ♥