Parkinson’s Does Not Know It Is The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!
The week after Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. The cooking is done for a while and the baking has begun for the Christmas goodies. Gift shopping is starting and party planning is well under way. Church Christmas activities are abundant and Christmas luncheons with my friends are scheduled for the next few weeks. Yes, what an exciting and busy upcoming month, but I have learned to be careful not to overdo it. I must make sure I give myself some down times in between all of the fun festivities. Parkinson’s does not know it is the “most wonderful time of the year!”
So how do you plan accordingly? I have come up with a few strategies.
*Plan to participate in one scheduled event per day. This is not the time for multitasking. Keep it simple because my body gets fatigued much quicker than before I had PD.
*Rethink gift giving. This is a biggie for me, but I spoke with the family on Thanksgiving and we agreed on a new gift-giving strategy. We each selected a name from a hat and determined a spending limit. Since our family includes six pups, we also pulled doggy names too. This process is a challenge because it is so different than our usual multiple packages for everyone, but I think we are up to it!
*Schedule specific days for relaxing. I have penned in two days per week during the next five weeks for R and R. These days may include loungewear, good books, cheeky movies and afternoon naps.
*Remember to say, “no,” when the will is there, but the body is just too tired. When you have PD, there is a fine line between tired and overtired. When I “hit the wall,” it takes much longer to recoup. I notice that I literally need two to three days of rest to overcome one day of overdoing it. Knowing this helps me to limit my good intentions by making smart decisions.
*Choose what is really important and fun and let the rest go. Just because you always made 10 types of holiday cookies in the past does not mean you need to continue to do so. I asked my kids to choose four types from the 10 and those are the cookies for Christmas 2018.
*Select your favorite Christmas decorations and make those the ones you display. For me, I love the nativity scene that I have had since I was first married. My grandfather build the stable and each year as I set the figures around it, I actually get goose bumps. I also enjoy decorating the Christmas tree. Each of the ornaments bring special memories of a lifetime since so many of them are family heirlooms. Finally, I like displaying the snowmen and Santas that I have collected over the years. My mom and I were together when I purchased most of them so they evoke lasting memories of treasured times.
*Remember this time of the year is really whatever you make of it. Keeping it in perspective is healthy for the mind, body and soul. For me, Christmas is faith-based and being thankful for the blessings of the season is really the only thing that matters.
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