‘Tis the season

I really am at that point in my life where I absolutely do not care what other people think of me. I refuse to model my home after Pinterest and Insta designs. Our mud room? Well, it’s manure, not mud. And sometimes life just be like that.

I have neglected my writing. My creativity has been stifled. I haven’t been able to express anything - except for my emotional overload when I lie in bed each night.

The raw, honest truth is that I wish I could rewrite the last six years of my life. I am fully aware that there is no magic eraser in life. It is what it is. We live with our choices.

And yet, doesn’t this season represents redemption and hope? Newfound joy and kindness? When did I stop being kind to myself?

Have you ever treated yourself worse than someone who you state that you despise? Admit it. We all hate someone. And sometimes that someone is who we see in the mirror.

And in the spirit of keeping it real, let me just confess that I also hate the holidays. I hate the hype. Stuffing the family in one room and expecting everyone to be kind and civil and to let go of a lifetime of hurts. Ridiculous. The unrealistic expectations. The “gimme gimme” attitudes. I can’t afford Christmas.

Our family, has re-written our holiday season, and I challenge you to do the same.

Stockings are still hung by the chimney with care. We have treats. Hello, peanut brittle, popcorn tins, puppy chow, and speckulaas cookies! We don’t do fifty presents each under the tree. That ended five years ago when one of our little darlings declared, “Is that it?”

We do Christmas Eve Church, yummy soups, A Christmas Story non-stop, and we do staying home in our PJs and not traveling anywhere. And we like it that way. No expectations. No family drama. No arguments. Just peace in our home.

I challenge you to do the same!