Life Lessons From Memaw
It’s the holidays. Most people love the holidays but not everyone–and not the entire time. It’s kind of a love-hate relationship.
My Memaw loved the holidays. She would decorate but not over the top. She would buy gifts but it was limited. She really felt the holidays were about cooking and family. She would cook for days because she loved it. And family would come over for just the day–eating, drinking, and visiting. That was her “Christmas”.
The holidays were different back then. Family was a priority and everything else was extra. Family would come either for the day or stayed overnight in a hotel. Decorations and gift giving were not outrageous. People, nowadays, go into debt to give the most expensive gifts and to pay the electric bill caused by the decorations. However, I think for most people, family is still the priority and that shouldn’t change.
But with everything already on our plates because we need to do “more” and “better” at work, in our social life, in our kids’ lives, then it makes sense we want to do more and better for the holidays. And when we do the “more” and “better”, where is that extra time, effort, and energy coming from? What gets neglected so we can add more? Usually it is ourselves–the self care we need to keep us healthy–physically and emotionally. When that happens and we don’t take care of ourselves, then we become out of balance.
So, the tip of the week is Self Care. Every day, we need to take time for ourselves. It may be watching our favorite show in our bedroom by ourselves. It may be getting up 15 minutes earlier in the morning to have a cup of coffee in peace and quiet. It may be taking an hour and getting our nails done so they are pretty for all the celebrations. Whatever it is, we need to take a few moments for ourselves. You can’t drive a car on empty. We need to take the time to fill up the tank. If we do this and find our balance, we will enjoy and appreciate the holidays more this year.
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season. Take Care!
