Savor Every Holiday Moment
Christmas is right around the corner, and if your household is like mine, there is tremendous hustling and bustling going on in anticipation of Christmas morning. I have a thirty-something son, who is our family’s version of Peter Pan. Christmas is for him, is exactly the same as when he was 4-years old. He loves Christmas. He is a joy to behold. A more kind, or giving, or loving person you won’t find on our spinning planet on Christmas day. His joy is contagious. Michael will be calling us around 6:00 Christmas morning summoning his mom and me to get over to his house to open gifts with his family.
Sadly, not every family has a Michael. Christmas, for many families, is not a joyous event. The additional stress of buying gifts, figuring out where the money is going to come from to pay for the gifts, holiday entertaining, and extended family visiting from out of town…just the sheer exhaustion of it all can be so overwhelming that you just wish you could skip right over the holidays.
If your family is not blessed with your own version of Michael, then may I suggest you take a hard look at how you can cut back on those things causing you stress. Christmas joy is not found in the presents under the tree, it is found in the people you summon to your home on Christmas morning.
I am getting to be an old man, and I have a laundry list of people I wish I could summon for Christmas just one more time. I would be willing to bet that those of you reading this…if you’re working your way towards ancient like me; are accumulating people on your list too.
Do yourself a huge favor this Christmas morning, and instead of scanning the presents under the tree, scan the collection of people you love who are gathered around the tree. It is they who represent what Christmas is all about. Savor the moment! Give them all a little longer of an embrace this year. Look them in the eye, and tell them you love them. Eliminate whatever you need to, so that you arrive on Christmas morning fresh and fully alive. Don’t show up exhausted and ready to lash out at your mom when she tells you the stuffing is too dry, or she already has a scarf like the one you just bought her. Sadly, like with my mom, you may not be able to make that 6:00 call next Christmas summoning her to come over to open gifts.
I will leave you with this; anything found under your tree can be replaced. Anyone around your tree cannot. Keep that in mind, and you really will have a very merry Christmas! God bless you all, and may the joy of this holiday be with you all.
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