Do you remember, when we though crimping was actually going to Staaaaaayyyyyy - aaayyyy - aayyy!! Baaahaaahaaa sorry for the digression.
What happened to Christmas break?! Somewhere in my life it went from "WHEN IS CHRISTMAS BREAK" to "HOLY SHIT IT'S CHRISTMAS BREAK." There is not a chance that I can get anyone's gift sent on time at this point, I haven't made a Christmas card, again, this year, and my neighbor's who are all 70 and above will start dropping off plate of cookies and the best I can do is throw some of the Ester Price candy my husband got but won't eat on a plate. (But of course I won't because then I wouldn't get to eat it)
My thirteen year-old son, who is not at all enamored with school, has been asking if he can start Christmas Break since Thanksgiving. His reasoning -there was not really all that much time between the two anyway. Me not being so enamored with my job, would tend to agree. But of course while he foresaw laying on the floor playing Xbox for hours each day with friends I was thinking of laying on the couch watching hours of Hallmark Christmas movies with my friends - Ben and Jerry.
When I was younger Christmas was all about Hope. Wishes. Christmas was when all your hopes and dreams might come true. Whether it was the latest toy or a hair crimper, or later on whether it really was peace on earth or at least in Congress. It just seems like there is something in the air this time of year.
Love
The older I got the more cynical it felt. But was that really Christmas? Or just me? The more I watch my children grow the more I learn and understand about myself. I really did listen to all the lyrics in this song again and thought about how hard it was to derail my hope, love, and focus at 8 years old when I truly thought there would be a horse for me under the Christmas tree. (If I were in Hallmark Christmas it would have been there!)
Christmas didn't change over the years, I was changing. I was finding my way, finding myself, finding my passions, or not. It made the whole world look different, especially people. Going into a mall to get one more gift would set off a string of curse words that would make a sailor blush and hours of ranting and raving about how everyone was ruining Christmas with their crazy commercialism.
It has taken me years to learn this simple fact, that I hope to help my kids learn long before I did. The feelings that I hold in my heart will manifest all around me. Protecting my heart is the most important thing that I can do for myself and my family. Keeping hope and love alive everyday is not just a Christmas thing. It's hard sometimes. Goodness knows! Life gets messy, complicated, frustrating, overwhelming, and keeping your chin up in spite of it all......
That's when we need each other. We need help in protecting our heart. And if we have learned how to do that for ourselves, we can not help one another. Not just at Christmas time in Hallmark's Christmas Village (Where the hell is this place by the way because I want to GO THERE!) but at the Mall, at the Grocery, in the parking lot, in traffic, in a crowded sidewalk. We can smile, say please, thank you and Happy Holidays, we can let in one more car, or pick up the scarf the person just dropped. We can look after each other the way we should. Not because it's Christmas, because we are all love.
Love
It sounds too simple. Too hookie. Without love in your heart, in your life, in your work, in your day it's hard to give any love back. And the more you give the more you receive. It's too easy to focus on all the love that is not out there, all the vitriol being spewed in a constant stream in TV, Radio, Social Media, and on the darn device we all carry in our pockets every minute of every day.
I'm going to take the best advice out there right - "It's easy to count your troubles, try counting your Joys instead" That device that I carry in my pocket every where I go and look at 10,000 times a day. I have changed the lock screen to this - LOVE. Just, love. To remember that beyond Christmas, beyond all the madness, there is love. That is hope.
Happy Holidays. May you find lots of love.
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