Hello there! I’m writing this on a Friday afternoon as I anticipate Greg getting home from work and the beginning of our weekend. Although I’ve mentioned it a few times here (last week to slow down, with inspiration, as an excuse, and as a kickoff to progressive cooking), I can’t believe I haven’t written a post about Sabbath in our home. It’s a great way for us to slow down at the end of the week and remember what's important as we turn our focus inward.

A few years ago I was searching for a way to get Greg off of the laptop for part of the weekend... this might sound a bit manipulative but it comes from a good place and it’s worked out ;) We had slowed down our lives successfully by editing our calendars and removing our excess possessions but I wasn’t feeling that connection that I craved. We both needed time to unwind and space to re-energize. I flirted with a digital sabbatical experiment and as I did some research, I realized what we needed was a weekly Sabbath. We needed that long span of time at the end of the week to do very little, recover from stress, and reconnect with each other. We needed a full day of rest.

I never practiced Sunday Sabbath as a child so I was really drawn to some elements of the Jewish Sabbath. Most religions have a day of rest and as we become too busy to take it, we may be getting more depressed. Greg and I drafted some guidelines for rest and we've been practicing something similar ever since!

IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING A WEEKLY SABBATH:
+ Start on Friday at sundown, right after work and continue until Saturday at sundown. Say a little something before starting, to acknowledge the shift and set intentions for the time.

+ Enjoy a nourishing meal as a family. Friday tends to be slow-cooker day around here so our Friday night meal is pretty easy and sometimes we have challah and wine! Include the aforementioned benediction? Great! Add a candle and dim the lights? Even better!

+ Limit cooking and cleaning. Other than Saturday breakfast, we try to stay out of the kitchen and away from the laundry. Also, limit shopping. And spending money in general.

+ Make it a digital sabbatical as well. No screens for 24 hours! (We’re constantly working on this one.) For us, this means laptops and controllers put away in a box but phones out for maps and photos. TV and Facebook are not restful.

+ Sleep and maybe get bored! Go to bed early, sleep in if you can, and take a nap after breakfast. This is where the actual rest comes in. And getting bored isn't a bad thing, that's when we get some of our best ideas.

So what to do instead? Read! Hike! Meditate! Have long conversations! Sit and smile! Consider a spiritual practice! Get reacquainted with quiet! Enjoy life!

You know I love rituals! Weekly Sabbath has become an important part of our routine and an important tool to break our routine. It helps us unwind at the end of the week, reset our nervous systems and patience, reconnect as a family as we focus on being present with each other, and catch up on sleep to re-energize for the weekend. (Greg might miss his laptop though;).

++ This weekly ritual was inspired by Tiffany Shlain’s Weekly Technology Shabbat: “Time slows down when you’re not online”. And for the future, I’m considering Friday Night Meatballs with our community. <3

+ Yay! It’s a new month which means a new monthly habit and a recap of last month’s. These monthly experiments help me build healthy habits, break unhealthy ones or just learn more about myself so I can figure out what’s really essential!

Happy New Year! What a crazy one it's been. We’re so excited to start 2017.

Are you into resolutions? Last year I wrote about some Resolution Alternatives. We do a number of these… we spent some of yesterday discussing our Priorities and doing a Trimester Review. And last week, we came up with our one-word theme for 2017: “soul”. I’m not sure what that means yet but will hopefully let you know. ;p

Although we're feeling excited, we’re also tired and a little run down. I don’t think it was the holidays or advent that did it, but maybe the extra commitments and the increased workload. We’re all introverts (yep, even Peanut) and it’s about time to practice more of what we preach. It’s time to slow down and commit to less.

When I slow down a bit, I'm a more patient wife, a more playful mother, and a more creative creative! Ha. I know the benefits of breathing room and how great I feel when I intentionally create space in my life. I gain perspective, focus, and even possibility! So for the month of January, we’re going to Slow the F Down by:

+ Continuing to practice our weekly Sabbath on Friday nights and Saturdays.

+ Leaving every weekend completely open for rest, relaxation, and fun. We have two existing commitments but that’s it!

+ Postponing weeknight classes and get-togethers until after the end of the month.

+ Practicing mindful socializing during the weekdays with one class a week and a social hang or two.

+ Hiring some childcare help over a couple of weekends so we can single-task to finish a few projects.

And in this space, we’re going to do nothing! Well, we’re going to hang out at home, go on day hikes, watch some football, and go to bed early as the early sunsets make us wont to do. We’re going to replenish our energy, play with Peanut, and focus on our goals for 2017.

+ My favorite January Habit so far was No Spending. If you’d like to reset with a simple challenge, try it out!
++ To our lovely friends: we love you and want to see you and hopefully will do so in February :D

Reflections on our December Habit: Advent:
I love our experience advent calendar. And I’m loving repeating experiments at the same time each year. This one made me smile and was fun to talk about at holiday parties. The goal was to do a festive little something every day to help celebrate and be present with the season. We had a wonderful Chrismukkah this year!

Advent helped us focus on the joy and fun of the season and not the stress. As expected, we didn’t exactly accomplish one item a day. We skipped a few when we felt too busy but also did more than a couple on weekends for a total of 30! Our completed list was pretty different from last year’s. Having the baby with us meant we went to fewer restaurants and bars and watched fewer movies. Instead, we had more outings and did some kiddo stuff. What a lovely end to a special year for us. <3 Cheers to 2017!

Did any of you try an experience advent calendar? What'd you do?!

Sabbath or a Weekly Day of Rest

January Habit: Slow the F Down ;) and a December Habit Recap