Merry Christmas world!!!!!!

This is the letter my kids left for Santa last night, along with his cookies and carrots for the reindeer.

I love how she waited until 8pm on Christmas Eve to write a letter to Santa with requests for specific items.  (Insert eye roll here).

And this was the conversation between my husband and me after the kids went to bed….

Me: Dan, eat those cookies the kids left for Santa. You have to eat all of them. I will eat the carrots for the reindeer.
Dan: Why do you get the carrots?
Me: Because I’ve had enough sweets today. I feel like the Grinch, except instead of my heart, my ass has grown three sizes today.

Anyway, our family is enjoying a wonderful Christmas so far.  Everyone slept in this morning so I got to enjoy my coffee in peace and quiet while listening to Christmas music with the dog.  It was heaven.  The kids woke up and loved opening their gifts.  They were pretty excited despite not receiving the items detailed on the letter above.

Now that the morning flurry of activity is over, I’m thinking of my loved ones.  I am thankful for the wonderful, and sometimes challenging people that I call family and friends.  Something happened yesterday that really effected me in an emotional way, and that got me thinking about the meaning of Christmas and what this holiday means to me.

I love Christmas….not for the presents, parties or any of the commercial hype.  I love Christmas because it represents a season of love, hope and kindness.  It makes me sad that we need a designated time of year to remind us that that’s what life is really about.  It’s about coming together as a community, a family, or even just as friends to be a part of something that is bigger than ourselves.  It’s about giving to others, simply for the joy of it, without expectations of reciprocity.  And in this day and age where selfies make up the bulk of a person’s personal photos, people spend more time with their smart phones than they do with other people, and attitudes of self-entitlement rule the world, I think that’s important to remember.  Life is bigger than just you or me.  Life is about all of us, and we all have to contribute something and interact with each other to make it wonderful and fulfilling.

I don’t talk about this a lot because I feel my spiritual relationship with God is private.  But I am willing to share this because it’s Christmas, and maybe it will help someone else the way it has helped me.  A couple of years ago I was praying.  I was experiencing a lot of depression at the time and I just needed some help, some guidance.  So I was praying to God and I asked him, “What is my purpose?  What am I supposed to be doing with my life?”

And very clearly, a voice responded to me and said, “Be the light.  You need to be the light.”

Be the light…for my husband, my children, my family and friends.  Maybe even for someone I don’t know or have never met.

Merry Christmas, and I hope each and every one of you finds a way to be the light for another person.