We need a little Christmas

I love Christmas.   It holds so many precious memories for me.  Obviously the Reason for the season is most important.  (Thank you God for your most precious gift!!!)  But call me cheesy, but the Christmas magic is so uplifting.  I have had some rotten Christmases (mono, post-concussion, horrible flu, strep throat so extreme I can' close my mouth and the list continues.) But that's not what I remember.  I remember family traditions of marching to Silent Night.  I think of hot dogs and German potato salad on Christmas plastic plates that belong on Christmas place mats easily reaching their second decade. I can taste the sweet coolness of egg nog as we unwrap gifts one by one and laughing as a family for hours.  Usually with/at my brother's reaction (but in our defense, he truly is the hardest person in the world to shop for!)  I love Christmas so much I was determined to have a Christmas themed wedding.  Which usually means a December date.  However, my husband and I lived in North Dakota/Minnesota.  (literally fifteen minutes apart).  Blizzards are a normal occurrence during the winter and as our bridal party and close family were traveling from eight states we really couldn't predict if everyone would be able to make it.  Also we got engaged in October and wanted to be married within a year.  So we got our Christmas theme but celebrate our anniversary in July.  (Get it? Christmas in July :)  (First before you judge we got awesome deals on all decorations :) 

But second?  No one else can choose what matters to you or understand to what depth you care.  We choose our attitude, we feel what we feel, and we control our actions .  So in the end we have to fight for what we want.  In a healthFULL Journey.  Not every choice is perfect.  Not every decision is "right".  But hopefully most of the actions and choices will lead us each to our "true" goals.

This thought is on my heart as we are days away from Christmas.  The hustling and bustling is all around.  And it is easy to get caught up in the chaos.  But hopefully we don't all get swallowed up.   Today my hubby and I had a rare day off together and packed up our son and hit the shops.  We had a long to do list - presents and then our daily house needs.  We accomplished a lot.  But when your list is a mile long it is hard to feel completely finished.  And after a long day (with a ton of walking) there was a wonderful Christmas moment.  My son was in his pjs.  Enjoying his last milk for the day and we cuddled together on our recliner (Which happened to be bought exactly a year ago in anticipation of our son's arrival home from his 44 day stint in the NICU).  Dinner was in the oven for the adults (chicken with creamed spinach and a mushroom risotto).  (LOVE Freezer veggies in steamer packs - easy way to get some veggies in a hurry).  Hubby was sitting next to us.  Few lights on with the Christmas tree and Charlie Brown's Christmas on.  The moment was quiet, comforting, and love-filled.  So yes Christmas can be crazy.  But in those quiet moments exist a beautiful breath of the Christmas spirit.  Those moments are worth fighting for. 

May your HealthFULL Journey get you closer to your goals and highlight the moments that are too precious to lose.  Don't forget we all need a little Christmas!  'Til we meet again. . .  

A Cramming Pack-rat

That's me!!! I am a certifiable pack-rat and I cram the uncrammable. I have this overwhelming fear that I am going to miss out on. . . something, Everything! I pretty much have allowed chaos in all areas of my life so that I have the chance to cram just that extra bit in every nook and cranny. I really can't remember a time in my life that didn't include a little overloading. We own a DVR (which is entirely too addictive!) and I run the memory full. If there are twenty-four hours in a day I like to "schedule" all twenty-four as active hours. If a room has two feet of empty wall space...I must fill it! I have closets filled full of memory items and interesting, but useless objects. These items fit in the categories of I don't want to forget that moment and I don't want to be without the miscellaneous object. Because I don't want to miss out on the opportunity to save the day. I like limits so that I can establish the teetering point of drama and see if I fail or accomplish an amazing feat. What does being a pack-rat have to do with my HealthFULL Journey? A lot more than I wanted to admit. I have trouble limiting my choices. By taking responsibility of choosing a restaurant or activity I am cutting out the chance of doing it all! I am trying to figure out why I have this great fear. I am in the early stages of my brainstorming, but let's see if we can muddle through this together. It is safe to say we all fear failure on some type of scale. We are afraid we can't pay our bills or that we won't meet others' expectations. We might be afraid that we only will get one chance of lifetime especially those moments concerning the subjects of love, success, or happiness. We tend to build towards celebrations and milestones that become stressful events because we feared that the event itself wouldn't register as perfect and/or memorable. I think all the previous things mentioned and worry about so much more. I hate to disappoint and carry that guilt and shame everywhere. I believe that I cram so much into everything so that no stone is unturned. I think deep down that at some point in life; there is going to be this huge pop quiz and I for one want to be caught ready! And as many times as I tell myself that no pop quiz exists I still try to cram just a little more experience into the nooks and crannies. I don't want to "fail" when it comes to life, so I take it all. All or nothing is probably the closest phrase to my daily mantra. But isn't the truth that when we seek all; we end up with nothing. For example, have you ever filled your laundry a little too full? Okay, have you ever overloaded your laundry to the point where the washer fills with water, but can't spin the clothes dry. The weight exceeds the washer's spinning limits. Instead of having freshly clean clothes you end up with soggy laundry. That is how most of my life has become a crammed pack-ratted day. I am so worried about experiencing it all, that I end up with bupkus!!! So instead of enjoying a day full of fun and leisure, I overfill everything and start to over feel EVERYTHING. I try every flavor so that I don't miss that one lifetime experience. Sometimes, we just don't have to try it all. A couple of years ago I found Bertie Bott's Jelly beans, the candy described in the "Harry Potter" series as the candy of every flavor. They truly included the yummy and the disgusting. They had flavors such as grass, smoke, and vomit. And could I just leave well enough alone? Oh no! I had to try the whole box to not miss out! Does anyone really need to eat a grass-flavored jellybean? Noo!!!! And I think the other flavors go without saying ;) While on this HealthFULL Journey I am learning that less is more and not every experience truly enhances "The Life Experience". While I continue to embrace the philosophy to Fully Understand Life by Living I encourage you to also check out what are you cramming into your mouth, your schedule, and your closets. May you cram less and enjoy more! 'Til we meet again. . .