The Holidays and Gratitude

I haven't posted in a while, with the craziness of work and the holidays it's taken its toll on me.  There's a lot going on for us -- not just the upcoming holidays.  We're getting geared up for our annual pilgrimage to Puerto Rico in a few weeks;  we have some work changes; and we're trying to get the house ready to sell in the spring.

I'm also not a big fan of Christmas.  I HATE shopping and the crowds and the pressure of finding the right gift for people.  The materialism of the season really gets to me.  I prefer Thanksgiving.  You get to spend time with family and don't have to deal with the gift giving frenzy.  But now Thanksgiving has been over shadowed by Christmas.  I love this cartoon, it says it all:

I enjoy being with family and friends.  And being thankful. 

People forget how fortunate they are.  We live in a country where no one goes hungry (a missed meal isn't starvation) and where we don't see the level of poverty that exists in other countries.  We also have a level of freedom unheard of in other places.  Which gives people the ability to whine and complain in public about how terrible things are currently.  People need some perspective.

Back to my point.  Its been a busy and a lot is going on.  Much of it is looking forward to the new year and some of the stress we're about to endure. 

I need to take my own advice and shift gears to the present. I need to focus on things like the funny moments I have with Wil.  Just now he came over and asked me to give him 5, he stuck his hand out and we slapped hands a few times.  The other day he asked for a hug and told me he loved me too after I had given him a kiss and told him that I loved him.  I need to reshift my focus back to the central ring in my life.