Hygge

It’s been the buzzword of the last couple of years that no one knows how to pronounce (for the record, I’m pretty sure it’s hue-guh). It evokes images of fireplaces, slippers, and fluffy blankets. “Coziness” could be a basic English translation, plus feelings of well-being and contentment. I fell in love with the idea simply because it’s Scandinavian;  my husband and I both have Norwegian ancestry.

The past two weeks have been a struggle for me. My teacher-husband and older kids have been off school for Christmas break, so we suddenly went from just me and the baby to ALL FIVE of us home all day, every day. For a few days it was fun, sleeping in and sharing all of our meals together. Playing with new Christmas presents and reading lots of books.

Then I started getting a bit of cabin fever. You see, the last two weeks have been the coldest of the year here in mid-Michigan. High temperatures have been in the teens, lows overnight below zero, and windchills… let’s not talk about it. Which means I don’t feel comfortable sending my 7- and 5-year-old outside very often.

The weather forecast says warmer, more seasonal temps are on the way… just in time for them to head back to school.

At the beginning of break I had some ideas of actually going places, like museums and the LEGO store. But laziness set in, and each day began to slip by without plans. I started to wonder…

We have all this free time! I NEED to plan something for us to do!!

Am I depriving my children because we’re not taking advantage of this opportunity??

I’m such a bad lazy mom!!

Other people would LOVE to have a chance like this!!

And that’s the kicker. “Other people.” I started playing the comparison game, and my initial reaction was that I’d lost.

Whose family is this anyway? Are my kids or husband angry with me because we didn’t go somewhere and do something “fun” on our break? Will the question at school “what did you do over break?” evoke feelings of regret, or will my family have an answer they’re content with?

I haven’t asked them, but here’s what I hope they’ll say…

I read LOTS of books!

I slept in EVERY DAY! 

We played SO MANY games! (yes board games AND video games 🙂 )

Mom made awesome food!! (I can hope 😉 )

We finished a 1000 PIECE puzzle!!

I played outside in the snow one day and my FINGERS FROZE!! 

I learned to play piano!!

We stayed up till midnight on New Year’s Eve!! 

When I stopped to think about this, my attitude about the past two weeks shifted. Don’t these sound like the kind of memories we want our kids to have? Yes the big adventures and events and trips are great too (I’m hoping to plan a couple for summer break), but I also want our family to be able to find joy in the little things. My daughter’s classmate might have gone to Disney World, but I want her to be just as happy about beating Daddy in Mario Kart.

Life can’t always be about the big and flashy. Let’s find joy in the simple and cozy today, shall we?

P.S. I wish I had a fireplace, a cuddly cat, and plaid slippers, but I don’t. You can choose to find the coziness and joy of hygge no matter what material possessions you do or don’t have. 🙂