It's So Hard To Say Good-bye

"It's so hard, to say good-bye, to yesterday."  As a child of the '80's/'90's, the music of Boys 2 Men is classic to me.  And it was fitting that this song ran through my head as I put up Christmas boxes in the garage last night.

As sad as it is to say good-bye to the holiday season, I appreciate the opportunity to clean, organize and return to normalcy after two months of the alternative.  I'm even looking forward to eating less and exercising more...returning to my marathon.

Cleaning up Christmas *can* go quickly...if you shove everything into random  boxes and care not about about being able to find it all next year.  However, it is a week long process here.  On Monday, in between bouts of sickness from my stomach flu, Danny and I cleaned up Christmas decor.  My Spring cleaning happens in Autumn and after Christmas here, which is why it is a week long process (not to mention the fact that my banshee boys make organization difficult in their waking moments).  

With kiddos, toys must be organized.  "Out with the old, in with the new."  I've packed up baby toys and transferred toddler toys from Christian's room to Jonathan's.  I'm working on filling up boxes with items for the local Salvation Army (which, by the way, I think I'll be visiting soon for clothes / toy shopping, after all, I'm not the only one with this idea).  I also put away a box filled with new toys for the boys, as they come in handy on rainy days and rewards for good-boy behavior.  (It also stretches out the fun of Christmas to an all-year affair).

It is time to organize reciepts, etc. for taxes as well.  Filing must be done.  Bills paid.  Random piles hidden throughout the house eliminated.  It is time to get ready for the new year!

I took a moment yesterday to get out of the house (the boys had cabin fever with all the rain we've been having) to check out the sales at Michael's and Target.  All Christmas items were 80% off!  I was able to pick up quite a bit of stuff for next year, as well as some winter decor for the house (what, you don't decorate for winter?!).

I'm ready for normalcy in our lives.  Well, you know....as normal as life can be married to the ministry with 3 and 1 year old boys.  In the meantime, I'm getting the infrastructure laid for a good start to the new year.  I'm really loving the feeling of a fresh start.

So, in reality, for me...it isn't that hard to say good-bye to yesterday.