A good friend put up a Facebook post this morning that was spot on to the way I look at the holidays: “….the presents are a plus, but it’s being with family, seeing family, seeing friends, and just talking about life and laughter”.
Much like my friend, Christmas time is my favorite time of the year because there are many moments where we are together with friends and family. The overload of any and every moment that includes smiles, laughs, stories, and photos always outweighs the stress that accumulates from my consistent semi-poor planning of the actual days everything falls on. For these reasons alone though, I wish the holiday season could be all year long.
Throughout the holidays however, I couldn’t help but think that not everyone has the opportunity to be with their family, their children, or their friends like we do; whether it’s because of money, relationship issues, or heaven being so far away. And I guess that is what also sometimes makes the holidays the saddest time of the year for some and also for myself as the “season” comes to pass. I don’t know what I could possibly do or say that could make things better, other than I pray for things to get better and easier for all of us as the years go on. I’m here for any of you reading this, do not hesitate to message me. No one should EVER feel alone.
But It’s Tradition!
This is the first year we had to plan things around our 1 yr old son’s schedule and lifestyle and it shifted a few traditions. Christmas eve at the Christmas house and then Christmas day dinner at Mom’s is always the tradition. But, unlike last year when our son was an infant and slept 75% of the day, our little guy is completely mobile and doesn’t like being in the car, gets into everything when we go places and mad when he can’t, and also requires a nap. This temporary combination doesn’t exactly bode well with having multiple sides of the family who live 25-50 miles from each other, who all want to spend quality time with us. So, based on his current needs, the traditional two trips just wasn’t going to be possible this year. I tried to do the right thing and align our schedule to everyone’s schedule….but it didn’t work out as I hoped. Driving home from Riverview on Christmas Eve is when it finally hit that I would not be returning the following day, as I had for nearly 20+ years prior. And while I was pretty crushed and heartbroken inside, I think we did what was best for us this time. Sadly, I’m starting to realize this is the way life goes when you are a first time parent. And I know it isn’t permanent, but what was best for our little family at this moment, but dang, adulting is tough sometimes. In the end, it’s about the moments that are spent together…not the day they fall on.
Feel good story: We were at the mall this year and a girl at Hickory Farms commented that we were the happiest people she’d seen all day. Mind you, we were on our way out because our child had just finished a melt-down from a skipped over (by us) nap-time and we had given up on the day…..but we were still smiling and laughing at our parenting fail… and likely just imagining how good the turkey stick w/ garden veg we were buying was going to be. Truthfully though, people need to lighten up and accept the craziness that comes with shopping during the holidays. Or just buy online. “There’s an app for that.”
(Not Really) Speaking of apps ….. this holiday I did my best to stay off my phone, unless it was to take pictures. I have promised myself to continue to do so during get-together’s as you just never know if it’s any moment is last time you’ll all be together. Seeing others on their phones, ignoring the moments going on around them made me a little upset… but I don’t know what is going on in their head or their personal life and maybe that little screen is the break they needed to make them happiest. Or maybe it is just a digital addiction. Either way… to each their own, but I’m going to live in the moments and enjoy all the traditions I can before they disappear.
In closing, I’ve decided that scheduling more vacation time, day-trips, play-dates, and family time is going to be my new years resolution. I need more great memories and for it to feel like the holidays all year long.
365 days till Christmas!
