Bold Moves Are the Best Moves

My son likes to debate which is the best holiday. He, of course, believes it’s Christmas, while I defend the 4^th of July.  The weather is warm, we’re at the lake, there are fireworks, family & friends, and low-key burgers and beers.

Christmas is usually cold and stressful. It’s always the year-end push at work to hit fictitious goals set 15 months earlier. It’s searching for gifts for those who already have everything, wrapping them, decorating the house with trees, ornaments, and nutcrackers all the while dreading having to take it down in a month. It’s creating the perfect holiday card for a list that keeps growing. The holiday also means admitting I’m not a baker when trying to keep up with all of the delicious treats delivered by friends and neighbors.

While I do have fond memories of some Christmases, the one I can’t forget was nine years ago when my mom watched two excited and naïve little boys unwrap gifts before saying good night to us all for the last time. That Christmas ruined all future ones.

The tree in this picture has been up and adorned since Nov. 15, 2022. Yes, that is one year and 40 days ago. It’s displayed in a room that we only use at Christmas when it’s filled with family, music, laughter and wrapping paper strewn everywhere – picturesque for a social media post. When we take it down, it’s dull and empty. 

This year, I couldn’t bear to take it down in January.  I was exhausted and depressed because of a job that was killing my spirit. I decided to call it our Super Bowl tree, and it eventually became our March Madness tree, since it is decked out with plenty of Chiefs & KU décor. By Summer, there was no point in taking it down. It was the joke of conversations. I took more photos of it than ever before to prove it really was still there. I admit it felt genius this November when that was one less task on my holiday list.

This Christmas has felt different for many reasons, but mainly because I am present.  I left two stressful jobs this year, so it’s been a time of giving and enjoying family and friends instead of being a holiday task master.  I’ve caught up with friends on phone calls and in-person versus just texts.  We took a selfie at the OKC holiday lights that we posted on a card and didn’t worry about the perfect setting, or year in review commentary.  We cut back on gifts. We made pretzels with Rolos and M&Ms for neighbors because no one can screw those up. We volunteered at a Soup Kitchen as a family and enjoyed an afternoon seeing the new “Wonka” movie.

We’ve had so much fun with my family the last few days and enjoying memories of our mom. Today is also my nephew’s 17^th birthday. When he was younger, I always felt like he was getting slighted. Now that he’s older, it’s such a great birthday because there is always a party on his special day.  We’re celebrating it at the Chiefs’ game today with a breakfast tailgate and cookie cake. I’ve made a sign for him to take into the stadium in hopes of making the jumbotron. Taylor Swift has been sitting right behind us most games (there will be a future blog about that,) so the Denver crew is excited to see her up close.

I hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas and may you be present this year!