This, my friends, is my favorite time of the year (outside of summer that is)! I can do without the frosty weather, grocery stores that staff as though the holiday season is a new thing, and the rudeness of folks that take my kind door holding as something they’re entitled to, and fail to say thank you for (I mean like, who raised you?). For me, it’s the simplicity of the season, I love the natural stillness that it brings. It’s the one time that my family gets to pause this busy machine we call life, and really focus on each other.
This year is very different than years past, the adjustments that we have all had to make as a society leaves us yearning for emotional and intellectual intimacy, and overall connection. We are sharing special moments via Zoom calls and parade like drive-bys, but as disconnected as that sounds we have been able to adapt, and somehow this holiday season, although different, still feels perfect.
Do I miss being able to have our annual holiday wine and dessert party? Yes! Do I miss our humorous, gut busting ugly sweater party (A.K.A. Holiday Knits for Fits)? Yes! Do I miss my brother’s baked goods? No doubt! Do I miss the roar in the house of my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and the anticipation of our holiday traditions? Absolutely! But, as I sit and prepare for the upcoming holiday, I feel such gratitude that I am still able to be with my children, and not all, but a tiny portion of my big, beautiful family, and we get to re-invent traditions and what togetherness looks like.
It has not been easy by any means, but in this stillness that has been gifted to us, I am continuously expressing my thankfulness for the ways with which I feel blessed; big and small. So as the “innanet” passes around the watered-down version of the Jesse Jackson quote “Presence over presents,” I hope that everyone out there in this tiny but mighty community we have built around embracing the inevitability of change, is able to fully live in this stillness, and direct your attention and intention in such a way that allows you to unwrap the true, invaluable gift that you can give to your loved ones, your presence.
Happy Holidays y’all! Be well!