Please, Can't We All Just Slow Down

At the end of June, when my kids were just about finishing school, I headed to our local pharmacy to pick up some sunscreen for summer camp. I walked in, took a few paces down an aisle, and was greeted by a tremendous “Back to School” display, complete with school supplies, backpacks, and lunchboxes. I stared at it, my mouth gaping. My kids had not even experienced their last day of school, and I was supposed to think about buying supplies for the next academic year?

I turned on my heel, vehemently ignoring the display, absolutel

y refusing to even think about September. Couldn’t I just enjoy these last few days of school, with the full promise of summer before us? Did I really need to rush this moment in time?

Apparently, yes, I did. Only two weeks later, right next to the Fourth of July display, I spied Halloween and Autumn decorations. Should I have been surprised? Of course we should be buying fake leaves and pumpkin decorations in the middle of the summer. I continued to become infuriated throughout August and September, when Thanksgiving – and yes, Christmas – items began appearing in both local stores and national chains.

I simply could not even think about buying Christmas cards while picking out Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters. That winter holiday was over two months away, and yet the retail industry was telling me I had to start worrying about shopping and decorating right now, not less than two weeks before Halloween!

I could no longer ignore the constant loop repeating in my head: please, can’t we all just slow down?! I just want to close my eyes and plug my ears and enjoy the moment. I want to be able to buy pool supplies in July, school supplies in September, and Halloween decorations in October. I want to enjoy each season and milestone with my children without having to worry and think about what I have to prepare for next.

Yes, I understand that there is always something that we need to plan for, especially as busy moms managing work, school, activities, dinner, and laundry. Sometimes it’s convenient – even necessary – to purchase items in advance. I do it, too, but (usually!) within reason. I am certainly not looking to buy a new backpack for September before school even ends in June. And I want there to still be Thanksgiving decorations available in November, rather than having to rummage through mismatched leftovers in some clearance bin because the rest of the store has been hastily overrun with Christmas and Chanukah decorations.

But, most of all, I just want to enjoy each season as it happens. My kids are growing up so fast; one day there will no longer be the same magic in Halloween or even in the last day of school. It’s so important that we savor these days, that we make beautiful memories to carry with us when our kids are grown and living their own lives. And that’s hard to do when everywhere we turn, we are being subtly (and not-so-subtly) told to hurry up . . . move on to the next thing already!

I know we don’t have much control over the retail industry, so I’m learning just to block it all out as best I can – trying to live in the moment rather than think about what’s coming next. Part of that, this year, will be not to leave my Thanksgiving table to go Christmas shopping. I really wish we all could give thanks together that day without having to separate members of a family who now must work earlier and earlier that day or potentially lose their jobs. Focusing on being together, rather than on what we need to buy or have, seems to me to be the best way to teach my children what’s most important in our journey through life with each other. I know not every family will have that choice this year, and that makes me very sad.

I’m not naïve enough to believe that any of us will change the current retail trend to display and sell seasonal items months before they are needed or even relevant. I know that we are being rushed for various reasons, likely related to increasing income for corporate America. And I get that that can be a good thing, sometimes.

But I’d like to think that controlling my own urge to give in to the commercial pressure is one small step to teaching my children to live a fuller life, where we can actually live in the moment and make happy, lasting memories that we can draw on during those inevitable times when life gets more complicated.

So, for now, I’m stuffing all the holiday catalogs in a pile out of sight, and heading outdoors to rake some leaves. Because, before you know it, I’ll need to go out and buy my kids their summer bathing suits.

* This article originally appeared on The Mommy Vortex.