Thankful Thursdays

This week, I am thankful for:

• snow. If it's cold and wintry, it ought to be beautiful, too.
• catching up
• having married my best friend
• muffins

Thankful Thursdays

Now that I've survived the holidays and all of the illnesses that came with it, I'm reinstating Thankful Thursdays. This week I'm thankful for:

• knowing my hard work is appreciated
• a 3-day weekend
• 2 days off with my husband (this is more rare than it sounds)
• meetings full of laughter, even when we're all under stress
• time to relax at home and let my creative juices flow
• snow!
• a full shelf of books to read (also not new, but I am flying through books right now)
• my local library and the Friendly Library Guy

As a side note, I am really enjoying a book right now by Lis Harris, who writes about her visits with a Hasidic Jewish family in New York. I love learning more about the Christian faith by studying our Jewish origins.

Things I Learned Over Christmas

My husband and I both in industries that are extremely busy around Christmas - he works in retail, and I work in the church. Between the two of us, we put in 13 hours of work on Christmas Eve. I picked him up after work, we went home, changed, loaded the car, fed the dog, and went off to visit family who were gathered 30 minutes away. We were so exhausted and so stressed without time to recoup, the Christmas holiday was a very different one for us this year.

1. "Doing Christmas" is not nearly as special as time spent relaxing with family.
2. Traditions are important. Old ones, new ones - it doesn't matter. But keep your traditions. It's important for everyone to have something special to look forward to.
3. The best part of exchanging gifts is finding something special for someone else.
4. The best kind of gifts to receive are the kind that encouarge you to spend time with people you love.
5. Going to a worship service at midnight on Christmas Eve is special and should not be missed.
6. The best part of not travelling at Christmas is that you can sleep in your own bed at night, and you don't have to worry about how many pairs of socks you've packed.
7. The worst part is that you don't get to spend as much time with your family.
8. Relaxation is an important part of the holidays. If you are stressed, they are far less enjoyable.

All in all, it was not a bad holiday (even though this may sound that way), but it was also not one of the most special. I am thankful to start fresh this year!