What's the point?

My mind is reeling. This morning, I woke up with a clean slate. Objective for the day? Nothing. So I sat with my coffee, and fuzzy warm blanket and watched Mannequin. From there, I started thinking that I should start firming up my holiday plans. Baking cookies with the kids, making gifts for teachers, the mailman and other people. I should get the invites out for Thanksgiving, but beautiful paper ones, not evites like always. Then there is the Cookie Exchange which has become a wonderful tradition. Christmas Eve, I am thinking of having catered, so that no one has to fuss...

Fuss. This sticks with me. Fuss. Rush, hurry, stress. Why has it gotten to that? This has hit me so hard that I have butterflies in my stomach.

Rewind to Thursday Night. Den and I are laying in bed watching TV. We are laughing about how Greg wants the tree up PRONTO- regardless if there are scary pumpkins rotting away on the front porch, waiting for garbage day. As we are discussing the holidays, I proceed to tell him how Christmas day is the culmination of the entire excitement for me. I LOVE Christmas. I always have. Everything leading up to that one day brings me so much joy.

I love going to look at Christmas lights. Putting up the tree, and the lights and watching all of the Christmas ornaments end up at the bottom because the little people can't reach more than 1' over their heads. I love watching holiday movies. Visiting friends and family with the intentions on doing nothing but that one thing. Bringing joy to all of the people I love and cherish.

Fuss. We're back to that one thing. Why has it gotten to this degree? Why is it when Christmas is mentioned, some people stress out because they see dollars blowing out the window? I am pretty upset by this.

My side of the family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve. We started doing so, because it was getting too hard to get so many things done in one day. Why is that? Why is it that we have an entire year to get so many things done and time to spend with people, yet we limit ourselves to that ONE day? Regardless, we started this tradition so that we don't have to rush around. Yet, as I think about it, we STILL RUSH through it. We rotate houses every year. This year, it is at our house. I am so excited about it. But I'm also a little bent out of shape.

I don't want to RUSH. It isn't FUSSING to me. THESE PEOPLE are my FAMILY. These people are the ones that I hold very dear to my heart. They are my family. The ones that used to scare the crap out of me on Halloween. They are the one's that taught me how to ride my bike. They are the ones that taught me how to curl my hair and put on make up. They are the ones that taught me that honesty and integrity are the most important characteristics that a person can have. They are the ones that put up red and green lights on the house every year so that we could go make snow angels in the front yard in the dark. I LOVE THESE PEOPLE. I don't want to RUSH anything with them. Because it is about us. It is about family. It is about YOU and YOUR family. Not just your immediate family. It is about the people that your siblings chose to marry and have children with. It is about CELEBRATING LIFE and how we are there for each other when the cards are down. Well you know what?

Right now the cards are not down. So it's time we stop rushing. It's not about killing ourselves for that ONE day. It's about time. It's about letting EVERYTHING else go for this one time in the year, and celebrating what we hold so dear.

When I think about how things have gotten, it makes me physically ill. What kind of person have I turned into, if I let my children see that the holiday season is about stress, fussing, rushing and monetary value? Because that clearly isn't why I brought them here.

So this year, my dear family, I ask that you come to Christmas Eve with no other items on your plate for that evening. It is about us and about time. If we rush through that one moment we have together on that one spectacular day, what are we telling each other? What are we telling our children? That our "other things to do" are more important than they are? So with that, I wish that all of you that read this, take time. Forget about what doesn't get done, and focus on what you want your friends, and family to know. That you love them, and that they are so important to you and your life.

Namaste.