I like to think I’m a pretty organised kind of person. So why does Christmas seem to take me by surprise every year? It starts so early in the shops, after all, and I seem to dwell in the self-righteous opinion that they’re spoiling the season by over-exposure — until all of a sudden it’s nearly upon us and I haven’t done any of the necessary preparations!
This year I thought I’d get things in proportion by using Advent to help pace me towards the big day and count down the days. I even bought myself an advent calendar. A fancy vegan chocolate one, in fact. I was never allowed a chocolate advent calendar as a child. Who knows why, some strange puritanical attitude of my parents..? But since we’re travelling long-haul mid-way through December I had a sudden puritanical reaction myself that this fancy calendar was wasted on me. So I gave it away. A nice gesture, but I then felt childishly deprived.
How wonderful then that the next day the post brought me a small, very travel-friendly paper advent calendar from my yoga bestie in Germany!! 🙂
It hasn’t solved my Christmas-induced panic as I struggle to fit in the card-writing and present-buying around a busy schedule, but I very much enjoy the daily ritual of opening a little window, noting the days passing, and feeling very loved by my far-away friend.
Perhaps I should send her something in return? After all we are booked on a yoga retreat together in the summer — I could devise a countdown calendar for that. But she is already anxious she’s not ‘good enough at yoga’ to participate in this retreat, and she’d likely interpret it as a training schedule rather than a way of building anticipation until we get to see each other!
babycrowyoga 
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