You Made It!

     So you made it thru Christmas! Congratulations! You are the recipient of the Merry-Maker badge! You sent your holiday greetings, either virally or via snail-mail. You packed the bags if you traveled and wrapped the presents to be opened on Christmas morning. You kept the traditions alive with an elf on the shelf or an Obama on a llama.  Just a few more days of Christmas break. Or if, you're kids aren't in school, it's just a further continuation of the same with less sugar cookies and a

more balanced sleep schedule. 

  

 The last two months of holiday prep and parties have probably left you a little worse for the efforts given. Maybe those skinny jeans are tighter. Maybe the sweater is a bit more snug. Maybe you and your spouse realized you need some time away. Either on a therapist couch or to an all-inclusive resort. Maybe you discovered that you're NOT a fan of your in-laws man 'n' cheese. Or perhaps you are just DONE with not waking up in your own bed on Christmas morning. This is your time.

     This is your time to make a CHANGE! Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. We don't have to keep up doing the same old routines. That includes our holidays. They don't have to be an endless blur of glitter and traffic lights. Our holidays DO NOT have to include the metal bar of a pull-out couch in someone else's living room. But we have to weigh the cost of speaking up. You can do it. You have the authority to narrate your families holiday story.

     We each get eighteen holidays with our kids. If we are lucky. Then, they become legal adults. We might get a few more after our kids go to college. But for sure, it's only eighteen. So let's make them what we would want them to be. Maybe you standing up and saying I would like or I don't want to will give someone else a much needed break. There might be some hurt feelings, but with some tact and grace we can navigate the conversation to a place of mutual compromise.

Next year is your year. Make it what you want it to be!