October, November, and December are my very favorite months. Although they're two distinct seasons (fall and Christmas), in my mind, it's a 90 day magical season.
We talk a lot about savoring seasons, about making the most of them and getting all you can out of them, but that kind of talk is mostly reserved for seasons that aren't the best and times that are hard. So how to you go about savoring the best seasons? The ones that fly by no matter how badly you want them to last?
Be present. You may not be able to spend all your time doing exactly what you want to celebrate your favorite seasons, but nothing will waste your life and make you miserable faster than wishing you were somewhere else, doing something else. So no matter what your life looks like, be present this season.
Do your favorite things. You already know this season is going to fly by, so make a list of your favorite things that you really want to do. When you have free time, look at your list. An hour you would have spent browsing Facebook can turn into an hour of trying your hand at that pumpkin cookie recipe you love.
Make time for who and what is important to you. We all know we're going to have to rearrange schedules and to-do lists in order to make time for things. Really, we do this every day. Just make sure you're making time for the important things and people. Sure, you can make time to organize your spice cabinet...but is now really the best time for that?
Take a moment to soak it all in each day. For me, nothing flies by faster than December. Last year, I made it a mission to spend at least five minutes sitting in front of the all lit up Christmas tree with my cup of coffee every day in December. Sometimes I spent an hour drinking coffee and listening to Christmas music, sometimes it was just five minutes. But it made me feel like I got a little bit of Christmas every single day, and it was so nice.
Don't beat yourself up when something doesn't meet your expectations. Fall, and especially Christmas, usually comes with a list of things you can't wait to do. I know I have this list (okay, lists) every year. Sometimes everything gets crossed off, sometimes it's January and I haven't so much as baked cookies. Life happens, and that's okay. Don't let missed expectations ruin the season--just enjoy it for what it is.
How do you savor the seasons that fly by?