Simple and Slow Fridays: Simplicity

I'm having trouble deciding how to introduce this topic. The chapter in Mitten Strings for God that I want to discuss this week is simply entitled Simplicity. Most of this chapter revolves around holidays and birthdays - keeping them simple. I don't want to go too much into my thoughts because I don't want to take away from the author's. With that, here are some excerpts that I found interesting:

So often, it seems, we are the ones who make our own lives more complicated that they need to be. We set the bar too high, take on too much, turn small doing into big ones. In part the culture is to blame-as each holiday rolls around, we confront an ever-expanding array of merchandise to go with it. There is more to see, more to do, more to buy, than ever before. (p35)

... The fact is, marketers of this world have gotten very good at thinking of new ways to create desires for goods and services and experiences that didn't even exist a generation ago. As a result, we end up offering too much to our children and taking on too much ourselves. (p 35 - 36)

How many of us can relate to the following:

Over the past couple of years, my boys have attended birthdays featuring pony rides, a visit from Batman, wild animals, indoor rock climbing, gymnastics, and an inflated space jump, rented by the hour. I've seen overexcited kids fall apart and more than one exhausted mother weeping in the kitchen. (p 36)

I know I can relate to that. In fact, we had Will's 5th birthday party at a place that is filled with inflatable things to jump on . The kids had a blast and I didn't have to clean up a house before or after. However, I do believe the kids would have had a blast at the park or in the back yard (even though it was extremely hot) or even running around inside my house. We didn't hold the party there as a way to be bigger or better than anyone else, we did it out of convenience honestly and at the time with a newborn it was worth the money.

And just to get on my random little soap box for a minute, because I can (haha), I detest the little treat bags that are given to each guest. I won't do them and I'm really not excited to see the kids come home with them. Usually it is just filled with a bunch of candy and junk. In my humble opinion, it's a waste of money. Plus, why are you giving gifts to the guests? The birthday child should be the only one getting gifts (if it's a gift giving party) - it's his/her special day! Ok, enough of my thoughts... see, I knew I'd take away from the author's chapter... back to business...

What message do our own excesses send to our children? In our efforts to create special occasions for them, are we losing sight of what's really important? Are these elaborate productions crowding out the kinds of simple, heartfelt celebrations that truly enrich our lives and delight our children? (p 37)

We don't have to make everything into such a big deal. We can choose simlicity over complication. And what a relief there is in simplicity. (p 38)

For children, every day holds potential for celebration and ceremony - the first day of spring, the first snowfall, the harvest moon. (p 41)

Challenge(s) for the week:

Simplify something... anything: your schedule, your to-do list, how much you blog, how much you are on the phone, etc.

Celebrate simply. Valentine's Day is coming up. I'm not implying you need to simplify your plans, especially if you are like me and this will be a date that's been a long time coming! Maybe celebrate it simply with your kids. I remember for each holiday there would be a little treat for each of us kids at the breakfast table... just a simple something that said "I love you".

Post about what and why you've simplified - link back here throughout the week (and if you would mention this carnival, that would be great!). If you choose to do a simple something with the kids for Valentine's Day, I'd love for you to include that as well!