I’m listening to Andy Williams sing Christmas music right now. I put him on because he sings about Christmas, “It’s the most wonderful time of year…” Okay Andy, sometimes it is. And sometimes it isn’t.
The holiday season can be a time for enjoying family. It can be a time of dreading being pulled in two directions by in-laws and even three or four directions by step families.
Expectations of what the holidays are supposed to be like can be met with the disappointment of what they end up being like.
It can be exciting to do so many things and overwhelming to do so many things.
It’s a time to enjoy thoughtfully prepared meals together. We can eat too many helpings and way too many cookies.
It’s a time to experience the pleasure of giving and receiving gifts. That gift giving can cause worry and stress.
Shopping can be fun and the crowds can get overwhelming.
It might even snow a little on Christmas. A white Christmas can be fun. We could be buried in snow like last year. It makes driving difficult and dangerous. The garbage won’t get picked up for a month. There could be massive power outages.
It can be a time of year to be thankful for our jobs. Hating the job you have or not even being employed feels even worse during the holidays.
Work hours can increase this time of year only to be followed by reduced hours after the New Year.
It is a time of year when we experience both satisfaction and guilt.
It is also a time when we can feel gratitude for our blessings and resentment over what we don’t have.
It is a time of joy and a time when sadness can be highlighted.
We can savor our friendships this time of year and feel extra bitter about relationships that have gone bad.
The holidays may help me to realize how happy I am with my life or to see how disappointed I am with my life.
During one holiday season or another I have known virtually all of these experiences; the good and the bad, they are all real.
It is important to remind myself
To take a breath
To relax
To enjoy what is good about the season
To recognize I can only do so many things and be so many places
To work at being patient
To offer forgiveness beyond what I think should have to.
To feel my blessings
To spend more energy on what I can do for others than I do worrying about who does what for me.
To consciously choose to be grateful several times a day. And then do it again.
It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourselves whole, physically and emotionally.
P
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