Just a few days before Christmas…and I think if one more person asks me “are you all ready for Christmas?” I just may have to clock them upside the head. Of course, it’s a pretty reasonable question at this point, but since I’ve been getting asked that by various people since about a minute and a half after Thanksgiving, I’m a little over it.

Even though it’s just a few days before Christmas…I am still not ready. Are you? If you are, I’m glad for you. Go have some spiked eggnog. If you’re not, you should know you are in a very big club…and even if you’re not ready until after Christmas…it’s okay. We put too much pressure on ourselves to have everything just right, when the truth is that there is no perfect. I mean, there’s a reason why the saying is “Merry Christmas” and not “Perfect Christmas.”

 

 

In the rush to do all that you think you must, please remember to give yourself some grace. Remember to breathe and enjoy. Remember to love. And if dear old Uncle Harry decides to share his opinions on “what’s wrong with the world today” after having one (or three) too many Manhattans…remember that Aunt Louise will be driving him home soon. Hang in there.

And amidst all of the chaos–both stressful and fun–try to carve out some time to simply be still…and know.

 

Below is a short post from “Christmas past” that I would like to share again. I hope and pray that you are able to make some beautiful memories this Christmas. God’s peace and blessings to you.

 

FraGEElay

(Originally posted December 24, 2012.)

Thanks to A Christmas Story, I can never see the word “fragile” without pronouncing it fraGEElay in my head. And on this Christmas Eve, things can indeed be fragile…huge ToDo lists…family gatherings…full schedules…exhausted parents trying to provide the “perfect” Christmas for their kids…It can get messy and broken pretty quickly. So as you would with fragile things, be gentle.

Though I have plenty of dysfunctional memories of this time of year (don’t we all?), I have so many lovely ones, too. Thankfully, the memories of things like my mom threatening to have Santa pass over our house if we weren’t asleep in two minutes (no pressure!) are far outnumbered with ones like having my dad read Santa Mouse to us, sledding with cousins, and counting Christmas trees in the windows during any nighttime car ride.

Another favorite memory of mine is the placing of the baby Jesus in the manger of our Nativity scene on Christmas Eve. We knew Christmas had really come when that happened. And for any who may be reading who don’t hold Christmas as a time to feel the blessings of the birth of the Christ child, please do not be offended as I wish those who do a merry Christmas. (I’m hoping we’re cool with it, as I would not be upset if someone wished me a happy Hanukah or Kwanzaa.) I wish everyone blessings…and if life is not treating you gently, I pray you have people in your life who do. Or at least love you as they help you pick up the pieces.

All photos are my own.

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