On To The Next Holiday…

• By administrator
• November 29, 2021January 15, 2026
• blessings celebration expectations family grateful holidays mindful My Blog
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Well, now that Thanksgiving is over, I am seeing more and more homes fully decorated for Christmas.  On Thanksgiving day, many of my neighbors were out stringing their Christmas lights on their homes, trees and bushes in an attempt to get the jump on others.  Personally, I am a bit bothered by Christmas music starting shortly after Halloween.  It’s not that I don’t love Christmas music because I enjoy it immensely.  It’s the fact that our society rushes right into the next event without even finishing the previous one.  In a time where mindfulness is the buzzword, we as a society aren’t being very mindful of taking in every last moment of each glorious holiday before launching into the next one.

I chose to spend my Thanksgiving alone this year and reflect on my numerous blessings and focus on being mindful while treating myself to some much needed TLC.  I can honestly say that it was one of the best holidays I have ever spent.  I slept in, soaked in my hot tub, made myself a lovely breakfast and did a wonderful meditation.  I did some reading, and watched a few Christmas movies.  A dear friend brought over food from her family dinner so I didn’t even have to turn on my oven this year!

Now that my children are grown and married, they need to start their own traditions with their extended families.  With their demanding careers in healthcare, my son and his wife both had to work this year so that sealed the deal on me staying home this year which actually delighted me.  My daughter and her husband always spend the day with his parents so I opted out in lieu of doing what I wanted for a change.

As a child, we dutifully went to my aunt’s house EVERY year and over the years I grew to dislike the holiday because it was always the same; everyone working diligently to prepare a feast that we rushed through because everyone was exhausted from all the preparation and just wanted to go home.  To me, it seemed ridiculous because we weren’t celebrating family or being grateful, it was simply a scheduled event where everyone was expected to show up with food in hand because it was “tradition”.

I am a proponent of starting new and more meaningful traditions.  This year was my attempt and honestly, I absolutely loved it and will do it again while leaving the “shoulda, woulda, coulda’s” to someone else.  I chose ME and I am so thankful I did.  You might want to try designing a holiday that you envision, not simply go through the motions.  From my point of view, I would highly recommend it.