I’m glad Christmas is over! I never thought I would ever say that – oh the plans I had! And yet, I’ve heard “if you want to make God laugh, make plans.”
For 30 years, I went WAY over the top to make the “perfect” Christmas memories for my kids. I wanted to create for them what I wished I had had as a child.
I thought I was setting our family up for years of “Hallmark holidays.” Yet, here I was, the second Christmas in a row, alone with only my husband and dogs.
This experience has helped me hone in on gratitude. It’s easy to find gratitude when things are going the way we want them to. The true mastery of gratitude is in finding gratitude in the midst of accepting what is.
Faced with another Christmas alone with my husband and dogs, I had a choice. I could sit home sad and crying, like I did last year, OR I could choose to find gratitude in what is.
We have gone to the movies for Bombshell and Knives Out – both I highly recommend! I am going to see Little Women by myself this afternoon and I went alone to a beautiful Labyrinth celebration and candlelight non denominational service Christmas Eve. My husband didn’t want to attend either, so again, I had a choice: force him to come with me, with both of us being miserable; OR go alone and be in the moment to experience moments of grace, which I did!
I choose to feel gratitude for the joy filled mornings when the kids would come running down the stairs to see what Santa brought. I choose to feel gratitude for the slower pace and the opportunities now to experience those peaceful moments of grace.
Whatever your Christmas experience was, whether it was I am glad Christmas is over, or a beautiful “Hallmark holiday”, I invite you to ponder “How can I find gratitude in accepting what is?” I am glad Christmas is over! I’d love to hear your thoughts below…
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Originally posted at StephanieDalfonzo.com