Harmony and Holidays

Along with the long Holiday season comes stress. The stress of putting up decorations, of preparing meals and purchasing all of those presents for all of those people. Not even to mention all of the money that is spent making those purchases. I get light headed just thinking about it.

I am here to tell you, that I have taken a stand against stress and refuse to be stressed out or stress my family out during the holiday seasons.

This sounds like an absolutely ridiculous statement. I bet your laughing so hard right now you've fallen clean out of the chair at your computer desk.

The cold hard truth of the matter is: It's true.

Two years ago I began to shop year round (and I know that you all probably hate me now) for Christmas presents. My kids have been bought for since July (except for stocking stuffers). My husband and I make one large purchase a year for the both of us. This year we are buying a drop in freezer that we have been wanting since Thanksgiving last year. I also make many gifts.

My entire family has been planting bulbs for spring and putting extra efforts into their gardens, so I am making personalized stepping stones for each of them. You would also be amazed at what you can do with a catalog. Again, I go for the personal! I purchased "make your own Monopoly" and will customize a board game for my parents and for my In-laws.

I refuse! to go to overcrowded malls and scream and holler at someone who took the parking spot that I was waiting ten minutes for. Stress, stress, stress! I will NOT go in search of some toy that is the latest craze. Stress!

I will not over schedule events for my children or for us. I will not expect my young children to be at family gatherings for nine hours a day without a nap. I say, "NO!"

Okay, I don't say it, but my actions do.

My In-laws (there are 15 counting spouses and children) all live in other states. They come home for a week to stay in one large house. (We live ten minutes down the road. Purposefully planned.) We are invited to come at 11:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (and Christmas Day) to "hang out" and watch football, play board games, and eat until 10:00 p.m. (We open presents at about 7:00 p.m.) After our first son, Rook was born, I sent Tim ahead. I stayed behind and waited for Rook to take his normal nap. We then arrived in plenty of time for much of the festivities at 4:30 in the afternoon; with my well rested son. I actually had wonderful peace and quiet and an afternoon to myself. Now we do it every year. Ahhh, family harmony.

Also, since our children were born we spend New Year's Eve going out to dinner together and waking them up before midnight for cheering and kisses. We plan to do that again, especially with the new Millennium.

Yesterday we were invited to a huge party to ring in the new year and at first I thought, "Yea, that sounds like a lot of fun!" Then I thought, "Wow, a new century! How could I not spend that first moment with my boys?" That is what is meaningful to me. If my boys ever ask me when I'm 80 years-old or some little child doing a report on 'The Turn of the Century', asks, "Where were you?" I can say, "Giving my most precious children and husband kisses and smiling from ear to ear."

Family harmony takes work and effort and it also means putting every person in your family up their on "your list", not just you. What is the best for everyone involved? I hope that there is harmony in all of your holiday plans this year. After all, that is what it is intended for.

Brenda
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