12.11.11 Christmas stress

Today we spent two hours snuggled together in a car overloaded with food and presents. Maybe a little squabbling between us. All to arrive at our family Christmas get-together. It was awesome to see the extended family. Worth all the effort to get there. We do not get to see everyone near as much as we would like. Why is that? Time? Money? Who knows? At least the holidays bring everyone close together.

But what else do the holidays bring besides a few extra pounds? Stress? Anxiety? Even depression? The increased pressure that we place on ourselves at Christmas combined with the financial strain often takes its toll. I won’t depress you with statistics but lets just say a lot of people have the holiday blues. And really, lets think about it …. all those Christmas decorations to put up, the maxed out credit cards, the whiny begging kids at the mall (oh no, definitely not yours), people driving you crazy, never finding a parking space, the endless cleaning and cooking for the inlaws. Oh my, I feel a crying jag coming on now.

And we come back to – whats the answer? As usual, I am no “Dear Abby”. Oh, I have advice, lots of it, more than you EVER wanted to hear. But whose to say if it is the right advice. Haha. So we will look at it from a different angle. Holiday blues…. This morning, I listened to the 12 things at Christmas that are such a pain to me. Yep. I hear ya. A wise woman once told me that perception is reality. So we need to adjust our perceptions.

1^st – finding a Christmas tree                    

decorating the tree with your children and watching their faces light up with joy  

2^nd – rigging up the lights

Ok, very hard to find a positive note here, how about your house looking better than the neighbors?

3^rd – hangovers

Minus the hangover – the egg nog, the champagne, the Christmas parties…

4^th – sending Christmas cards

Staying in touch with family and friends

5^th – five months of bills

Ok, definitely nothing positive about this. Sorry. This is not perception. This is reality.

6^th – inlaws

They aren’t as bad as you think. We put the pressure on to cook and clean. They don’t care. Or at least, they shouldn’t. Important thing is getting to spend time together.

7^th – charities

You know. Really, we should be generous all year. But the bell ringers do get on my nerves. Not their fault but….

8^th -  whining kids

Ok, people. I don’t care if you have to threaten the naughty list, get your children under control.

9^th – finding parking spaces

Helps you walk off those extra pounds you picked up at Thanksgiving

10^th – batteries not included

Whats the issue? Buy batteries. No stress. Be prepared. You know ahead of time.

11^th – stale tv specials

Good time to catch up on movie rentals. Lots of good movies you probably haven’t seen.

12^th – singing Christmas carols

Hey – whats wrong with singing Christmas carols? Of course, Christmas music on Halloween? Too much.

Ok, so those may have been my positive changes but you get the idea, right? Try looking at things differently. Seeing the good… You know what is the key, right? Patience. The holidays require LOTS and LOTS of patience.

Bible verse of the week:

Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer

Bible Fun of the week:

Here is a brief synopsis of the ten commandments. See how many you can put in the correct order:

Thou shalt not commit adultery

Thou shalt not kill

Honor thy mother and father

Thou shalt not have other gods before me

Honor the Sabbath

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife

Thou shalt not make any idols or bow down to them

Thou shalt not steal

Thou shalt not bear false witness

Thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain

Tough, isn’t it???

Take care. God Bless!

Terri