The Greatest Unwrapped Present

The approaching holidays shed very bright mental light on the finite number of hours in the day. Suddenly the places to be and things to be done are endless and we find ourselves wondering, what is the point of it all? This happens whether you feel you know the “reason for the season” or not. It is simply what happens to all of us, especially when you can’t find the hot glue gun, had an epiphany at 3am to make the whole neighborhood jars of homemade soup mix and are determined to have good holiday fun with the kids stringing your own cranberry and popcorn garland.

When the sense of being buried alive in reams of wrapping paper and cookie dough looms, step back and take a moment to focus on what makes you feel alive and happy. It may very well not be making all your holiday cards by hand and that is OK just as it is if that is the sort of thing that makes you quiver with joy. Honor your family and the season by doing what creates a sense of pleasure in you, not necessarily what impresses others or makes them happy.

That is the ditch that many of us fall into. Certainly there are times to impress and please others. In fact, doing those things is often a great source of pleasure in and of itself. It is when it becomes your sole motivator that it poisons the intent. Your children will feed upon any happiness that you exude. It is their language of love. This is the gift they want the most. Just as they are happy to gnaw on a giant turkey leg (great pictures!) and play with the empty cardboard box instead of nosh gourmet stuffing and learn Mandarin on their new LeapPad, they would rather have you enjoying a moment giggling on the floor than you stressed out over sweeping it first.

Whatever side of the fence you are on regarding holidays and religion, it is impossible to deny the effect of love. Whether you think we were created or evolved, love is what we seek from the moment we come into the world. A quote from Mother Theresa says, “We must know that we have been created for greater things, not just to be a number in the world, not just to go for diplomas and degrees, this work and that work. We have been created in order to love and be loved.” The babies all know this and attempt to teach us with every drool-soaked grin. All they need is a reflection in you.

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