Present for Christmas

So with the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, the getting the perfect gift for everyone, it is easy to lose sight of who you are and how much you matter to other people.  What about you, what can you do for yourself and for others while your at it, this Christmas season.

Be present in your life, sounds easy right?  Actually not so much, between kids, and errands and chores and cleaning, and laundry, and the list goes on and on and on. By the end of the day when it is all said and done, who wants to think about buying gifts, wrapping presents, getting it all done in time. Okay so truth be told I love this, I love the hustle and bustle, the running out the last minute to get a few last things and stocking stuffers, or the ingredients for the bake from scratch cookies I just thought of on Christmas Eve at 7 pm.  I love it all the Christmas rush, but my wish is always to have this Norman Rockwell like Christmas, you know the kind I am thinking of , the decorations, the pies right out of Martha Stewarts Magazine, the logs on the fire, the warm apple cider, the scent of pine and cinnamon in the air and the Carpenters Christmas album playing in the backround. The living room bustling with family, telling stories of Christmases past.  But fast forward to reality, none of that ever happens no matter how hard I try.  First of all my family that is present on Christmas consists of my mom, dad, husband and 2 kids, so our gatherings are not very big.  Anyway back to the tinsel and the holiday guffaw.  I realize that it is too much to expect to have a Holiday that is like those you see in the movies, so instead I throw in the towel and try to have a Christmas my kids will remember, I try to create traditions that they will remember when they are 30 and want to do with their kids. So this holiday season, I will try to go that extra mile to do things that are fun and festive well because I love it. Tis the season to be merry.
So I am going off topic, back to the being present in your own life, well that is the million dollar question right? How do you do that? I am here doesn't that make me present? I am trying to be more present in my life this year,I am trying to acknowledge each moment, to appreciate all the things my son says that crack me up, to take in all the laughs and smiles my daughter gives, to smile and laugh at all my husband's corny jokes.  I guess I am trying to live in this moment instead of looking ahead to the next 100 moments. So I hope I leave you with sugar plums dancing in your head or just a thought or two of enjoying this very moment and how to be your own present at Christmas by being present.