First Day of Advent 2013

It's the first day of Advent and my brain is already so full to bursting of all the *things* and to-do's careening toward me that it woke me from a peaceful sleep and has me making lists at 6:30 in the morning on my last day to sleep in before the end of Thanksgiving break.

It's the first day of Advent and one of the first things I have to do is move the fans and dehumidifiers in the family room to continue drying out the floor and furniture that got wet in the flood when our washer overflowed overnight Saturday night. To get to my computer, I have to step over the contents of the family room and laundry room -- all of it stacked in some bizarre obstacle course from our front hall to our dining room.

It's the first day of Advent and Robby's science project is due on Thursday and I told him I'd type in his numbers for him because let's face it, even adults can't really type numbers very well and darn it if he doesn't have 27 charts of numbers from all his data and measurements and let's face it, this is going to take me awhile.

It's the first day of Advent. And all I can think about is Lent. I want to give something up for Advent, to be more specific.

I decided, laying there in bed making lists, that I'm going to give up just one word for Advent this year. One single word. And if I can cut this word from my mouth for the entire month, I imagine my brain will believe it and my heart will overcome it. Here's the word: BUSY.

And that doesn't mean I won't be busy, I will. I am. I'm a Mom. I'm always busy. We always are. We humans are. We are busy. There. I said it. Got it out of my system.

It's my hope that dropping that word makes room for so much more. Because doesn't busyness beget more busyness? And the busier you feel, the busier you are? So maybe I'm naïve, but I figure, get rid of the word and maybe some of that busy will follow it? Get rid of the word and maybe just enjoy the ride a little bit?

Maybe beating back busy will mean pushing away all the trappings that comes with it. The chaos and crazy and disarray… and hmmm...now that I mention it, there might be a few words I could give up for Advent.

In getting rid of busy, here's what I wonder. Any room that comes from it, any quiet space I am able to create, doesn't that mean that much more room for opening myself to the season? In getting rid of busy, I hope to open myself to the gift that God gave me… wrapped in swaddling clothes some two thousand years ago… back when busy didn't have much meaning.