What a great year it has been...

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Christmas (n) :the annual festival of the Christian church commemorating the birth of Jesus: celebrated on December 25 and now generally observed as a legal holiday and an occasion for exchanging gifts

This will be my last post for this year as I take a break to prepare for Christmas and enjoy the time with family and friends.

As Christmas nears, all the ooey, gooey feelings inside me return. No matter how you celebrate it, or if you celebrate it I do hope that everyone is safe and not alone. For some it is time to simply get together with family and friends, sing carols, enjoy a break from work, help those less fortunate or celebrate the birth of Jesus.

This time of the year I get a lump in my throat thinking about how fortunate I am to be where I am and who I am. So much has happened and changed. I finally published my first novel, met wonderful people and made new life lasting friends. I had a rough December with my sick kids and feel so blessed they're all right and back to their bouncy selves.

This month for me brings thoughts about those who cannot be with us anymore. Like my grandfather, or my husband's mom whom he lost when he was four.

During the season I also think about what it would be like if I had no one (I know, that's just me). Even if I don't want to think about it, I know there are those who will never know the smell of hot chocolate on Christmas morning, and will never feel a mother's comforting smooch on their cheek when she kisses them goodnight. A whisper in your ear that everything will be ok, even when it won't. A comforting hug, for no reason... ...just because.
And I will always have those people in my thoughts and in my prayers, building hope that these little gifts I take for granted will somehow find their way into their life.

Although sometimes sad, I need to think about these things to make my Christmas special. This is the way I realize what I have is much more than many do and the people in my life are special. I am fortunate to have you all in my life, share my thoughts, tears, laughs and joys.

Please take the time this season to ... ... to take time. We rush so much every day. As cliche as it sounds, I will stop and smell the roses, keep my fingers away from the computer, hug my kids as much as I can and tell them I love them. I plan to smile more often, laugh much more and take deeper breaths.

For those traveling have a safe journey and those drinking, hand your keys over to a designated driver.