Sinking in to the Holiday

There comes a point when it is just time to sink in to a holiday.

You've reached that point when "enough" has been reached. Enough stocking up on food, drink, presents, sweets. Enough traffic, driving, planning, scheming. Enough swipes of the tired Visa card.

The trick of really sinking in to the holidays, it seems to me, is to recognize the "enough" point and to act on it by getting out of the director's seat and simply letting the holidays unfold. The alternative, which I know well, is a holiday season overshadowed by the frustration of all that "could have been."

Would I love to buy one more gift for Frances. Yes? Will it add one iota to her joy on Christmas morning? No. Would I love to get my mother a book that I just heard about? Yes, I would. But, she has plenty of gifts to open this year, not to mention birthdays and mothers days ahead. Is there enough wine in the house to sip and to share? Absolutely. Can we offer neighbors cheese and crackers if they stop by? Yes - and they won't even miss the nut mix that just isn't getting purchased this year. I have reached "enough."

And I am ready to let the miracles of the holidays unfold: wine and cheese become stories told, laughter shared. Gifts that are occasionally cherished and sometimes "re-gifted" stregthen our relationships either way. Music and lights heighten our awareness that we are, all of us, sacred.

There is room in my holidays this year for surprise and for wonder. For miracles and for fun. And I am not going to miss those moments of eternal abundance fussing over a parking place at the mall or the consistency of my cranberry sauce. I have done Enough.