A Christmas Eve Blog

It's quiet... REEALLY quiet in my house tonight.... my children are away with their dad for Christmas break this year so I am relaxing at home alone. It's not looking, smelling, or feeling like Christmas normally does for me, but in an odd and perhaps strange way, if I had a fireplace and snow outside it would honestly be perfect. I was invited to a few gathering's tonight and although grateful that I have such amazing friends in my life, I decided to hang out with myself instead; I needed it. The past 6 months have posed a huge shift... another transition that will ultimately lead me to more amazing things in 2015. Sometimes it is necessary to be alone... to reflect on all that is around you and I am truly thankful for this time right now to do just that. So... I sit here with soft music playing, a fresh cup coffee and homemade chicken soup simmering on the stove, reaching out to inspire you tonight. No tree, no decorations... but I am content.

Happiness and contentment in life is all about perspective... it's not about material things, or people making you happy. As I have said many times, over the past several years it is about YOU enjoying time with yourself, liking who you are, being confident in that and not needing anything or anyone to put a smile on your face. It is about being thankful for what you have, where you are and appreciating your journey no matter how rough the road gets. As I was out at the store today grabbing a few things to make chicken soup, I could see the stress on people's faces... the scurrying around getting last minute gifts and groceries... people honking horns on the roads with frustration in their eyes; it was literally a zoo. I walked with peace... a smile on my face and actually felt kind of lucky to not have so much to do. I have two weeks before I will be celebrating Christmas with my beautiful kids but I will not be caught up in the craziness. I will be able to enjoy myself, the time with them once they are home, and not be in a hurry for anything.

Christmas Eve for me this year is about reflection... about remembering why we celebrate this holiday; it's all in perspective for me tonight. I still have a few bumps ahead as the new year approaches but I have learned so much about the rewards that await once the storms are over and I look forward to what lies ahead. The clouds always lift, and the sun will always shine again. No matter what you are going through, no matter how lonely you may be this holiday season... know that you are still blessed beyond words. Do what you can to be thankful, to be happy and to fill yourself up with Christmas spirit by getting right within your heart, with others, with yourself and with your Creator. I have made MANY, MANY mistakes in my life, I am FAR from perfect and am constantly looking to improve... but when I am in the midst of a storm or when I have feelings in my heart or people in my life that are trying to steal my smile I simply bow my head and pray for the strength to keep everything in perspective. Funny thing is it always works.

Tonight on this quiet Christmas Eve, I share with you PEACE through a blog post and a Christmas poem that I will write on a whim in real time; so here it goes....

A Christmas Story

A feeling, a smile, a moment of truth,

A time, a place, the laughter of youth.

A tree, a twinkle, the smell of a fire,

A family, a gift, a heart's desire.

A song, a star, a child was born,

A purpose, a life, a ring of thorns.

A man, a God, your life to live,

The story, the meaning, the reason to give.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 

May your hearts be filled with peace and joy

Until next time...

xoxo

Shells

                                                   

                               

                                                          

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A little Holiday Cheer

Happy Tuesday! I am sorry for the delayed blog post; busy season is among us and I am like a chicken with my head cut off this time of year. (Losing a week did not help!) Now, I am not sure what or even if you celebrate this time of year, but the simple fact that you clicked this link tells me that you may need some holiday cheer, (whoa unintentional rhyme) Anyway... my goal is to deliver that something special that you may need.



If you like sunshine, then Florida is definitely the place to be during Christmas. Even after living here for nearly 15 years, I still find it REALLY hard to get into the holiday spirit wearing tank tops and flip flops. In fact, when I saw this weather map on Facebook I laughed out loud and could not help but wish that I could simply wear a fluffy sweater and snow boots this year. (I suppose I could but would likely die of heat exhaustion, not to mention look a bit strange.) So... I will live vicariously through those who post pictures of  beautiful snow covered trees, icicles and snowmen and allow it to bring me back to when I was just a little girl in Massachusetts.

 My holidays were surrounded by the seasons, I loved jumping in piles of raked leaves in the fall, but winter was my favorite season of all. The barren trees were always covered in that glistening white magic and the calm quiet of winter was always so peaceful. One of my favorite things was the way the light hit the snow on a moonlit night outside the huge front windows of the A-frame tudor home that my dad built; I could see the lawn from my room because it was the loft which faced that window.We always had a fire going during this time of year and because of that, I still love the smell of a wood burning fireplace. I loved popping popcorn over the fire in an old fashioned popper (Little house on the Prairie style) while Mom and Dad sang Christmas songs like O Holy Night I to the strums of his guitar. That is how I remember my childhood Christmases, they were awesome and the memories of those times are something I hold very dear. I had hoped that I would give those kind of memories to my kids however felt as if I had failed to do that in this season-less state, until my beautiful daughter Baleigh reminded me that I was wrong.




This year, we decided to get a huge real tree, and because real trees are a little more challenging to hang heavy ornaments on, I decided to just do a "show tree" and not my traditional tree with all the "special" ornaments. I whipped it together thinking nothing of it even though I had initially thought we would do what we always do and decorate it together. It just seemed to be the "easiest" thing to do considering time was of the essence and it was hard to tell them where to stuff raffia. On Sunday, Baleigh and I went to church and on our way back she asked, "Mom, when are we going to decorate the tree?" I explained that I decided to do a themed tree this year and that it was already done, still thinking nothing of it. Until... she got quiet and when I looked over I saw tears forming in her eyes.

When I asked her what was wrong, she tried to say that her allergies were bothering her... (man, that kid is just like me!) but because of this I knew that she was not being truthful.After several minutes I finally managed to pull out of her that she loved decorating the tree and putting all those special ornaments on that I have collected over the years; she honestly could hardly stop the tears from falling.

It was in that moment that I realized that despite the fact that I feel I was unable to create special holiday traditions in this ridiculous heat... for her, the time we took remembering the moments when we made these ornaments together... and how amazing it always is to pull them out year after year realizing how quickly time really does fly. My heart was warmed and I was so proud of her. So in honor of our Christmas tradition, next week when my oldest daughter Cierra comes home, we will re-decorate the tree. Me and all my little munchkins... the ones who give me so much joy and so many smiles because THAT is what truly means the most and we will do it while wearing tank tops and flip flops!

XOXO

~Shells~

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