You are my brother and my sister

As the holidays creep ever closer, we will be under greater stress then ever. I don't know what it is about the holidays that sends people into a death spiral....sometimes I struggle with the fact that I am in control not the holidays! It feels as if everything I do is doomed from the start and only gets worse as I try harder to keep "it together". By the time people start arriving at my door I am frazzled, fragmented and an eye lash away from scraping the whole thing. When I was younger I worked over time to instill the magic of Christmas in my children...now that they are are teens, the magic lays in Ipods, video games, and "green". They've had much of their childhood destroyed by Mom and Dad's nagging at each other. Husband hates holidays and only during this time does he become Jewish. Apparently being Jewish comes with the notion that you can complain long and loud about having to participate in the festivities. Needless to say holidays in my house are----awkward to say the least!



Add to this, the fact that we sometimes eat our weight in holiday goodies. I won't lie I love holidays because all the nummies. I grew up having a mom and two grandmothers who were excellent cooks and so I indulged in bite sized pecan pies, snickerdoodles (which my daddy perfected and is now the king of snickerdoodles), Missouri cookies, and chocolate mint pinwheels. But I digress..... every family has some sort of tradition around the holidays. Be it hiking to the Christmas Tree Farm and chopping your own tree, make tamales, cutting paper snowflakes to paste on the windows, or Mexican Fiesta we always end up pissed off at either ourselves or friends and/or family. I am not gonna say I have all the answers or even any answers, I'm still prone to a slow simmer during this time. This year will be different I hope because I've been doing so well with my Zen status....that being said.......



I think that we all need to remember how fragile life really is. All to soon loved ones are taken away from us, jobs are lost, shit happens. No matter what that shit is, we are monumentally better off than someone living on the streets in a cardboard box! When we remember that, no matter what the current chaos, there are people who have nothing. Community Food Banks have empty shelves, seniors have been left in care centers and forgotten and children who now safe place to sleep. I know that when I lend a helping hand to someone in need, I feel better through and through. There is something so satisfying about "random acts of kindness"--and it reminds us that we are blessed with abundance even when it seems the fridge is bare and the car needs gas but payday is 2 weeks away. For me, when I help with a kind word, a spare dollar, a gift card or donation to the food bank, I am creating a spark of gratitude within my being. Gratitude keeps me connected to my creator and forces me to remain positive and happy....if I'm happy then those little stresses, which really aren't stresses but learning blocks, seem easier to handle, even trivial. We end up like the Grinch who finally understands the magic of Christmas and our tiny hearts grown three sizes. Each and every person we come in contact with is an appointment from heaven. We have two choices: walk away saying "this isn't my problem" or asking how we can help. Sometimes the very act of asking is all that is needed.

   ..........Carry On