Be Present This Holiday Season

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of work and writing and Christmas shopping. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and this year, I’m hosting Christmas dinner for my extended family. I know it’s going to be a lot of work, but I do enjoy these family events, and the shopping! I love picking out gifts for my loved ones. But enough about that.

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Today, I’d like to talk about being present this holiday season. I’ve noticed over the past year that many people take selfies when they’re out with loved ones and post them on social media. I know this is important when you’re building your brand, but we are so much more than our image on social media.

I challenge everyone to be present with your family and friends this holiday season. Make sure this season is about them and not building your brand. Take pictures for the memories and don’t worry about social media. You can always go back to building your brand after the holidays.

Really enjoy the moment whatever it may be. If you go to a Christmas parade, don’t just take a selfie and be done with it. Put the camera away and be present with your companions. We won’t get these moments back, and they’re so much more satisfying than getting hearts and likes on social media.

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This is how we get our connections back. This is how we strengthen our bonds with our families and friends. This is how we fight disconnection. We can’t afford to become more disconnected than we already are. Research has shown that increased amounts of screen time can be associated with anxiety, depression, and leads to social isolation which in turn leads to lower self-esteem.

I’m not a therapist, but aren’t these all ingredients for mental health issues? What if we increased our ability to be present and strengthen our bonds with family and friends off of social media. Maybe we’d see a decline in mass shootings and suicides.

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So, let’s make sure we’re present this holiday season and strengthen those bonds with our loved ones. Maybe start some new family traditions or hold up some old ones. My family has started a new tradition of playing cards during our time together, and while we’re playing, we reminisce and laugh about our antics growing up. It’s a great way to foster that connection we all need.

How about you? How do you strengthen your family connections? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

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Grace and Gratitude

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you and you had a Happy Thanksgiving. I had a great time with family. It’s always fun to get together, play cards, and walk down memory lane with everyone. It was a lot of fun and there was lots of laughter.

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However, not everyone has that happy family to spend Thanksgiving with. Some people come from horribly toxic homes where there are no happy memories. If you have a friend that’s in this type of situation please include them in your circle so they’re not home by themselves for the holidays, drowning in memories they’d rather forget.

It’s one thing we can do for our friends who have to deal with tragic memories. Some of those friends may be self-medicating. Losing themselves in alcohol or drugs or over-eating. Some of our friends might be struggling with an addiction, trying to break the cycle and the holidays can derail that healing process.

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Couple that with the stress of the pandemic and many people are going to fall off the wagon or take a few steps back in their healing journey. Let’s give them some grace. This is a difficult time, and many people are struggling. Let’s keep our judgements and pity to ourselves and be there for those friends in need.

It’s what the holiday season is all about, right?

It’s also the season of Gratitude. I am so thankful for my family and friends. I’m thankful they’re healthy and happy. I’m thankful their struggles are few. I’m also thankful for my internet friends. The ones I haven’t met in real life, but who are there for me online. The ones I can chat with in my writing journey.

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I’m also thankful for the writing community. I’ve never worked in a community where there was so much support and encouragement. So, there you have it. My wishes and gratitude for the holiday season. What are your wishes? What are you grateful for? Leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

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Happy Easter!!

 

 

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I just thought I’d stop by and wish everyone a Happy Easter. It’s definitely going to be a different kind of holiday than it has been in the past, but still one worth celebrating.

Enjoy your time with your immediate family and celebrate as you see fit. Please practice social distancing and stay safe, so we can all see our extended families sooner rather than later.

Take care and God Bless, I will be back soon. Enjoy your Holiday. 😊

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! I’m grateful for all of you!

 

 

Happy Easter!

 

 

 

Happy Easter, everyone. I hope you enjoy your day, celebrating with friends and family. I’ll be doing that myself so there won’t be a long post today. I’ll be back next Sunday for our regularly scheduled programming! Enjoy your holiday! 🙂

My thoughts on Vacation, Stress, and Peer Pressure

 

 

 

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you. My post is a little late this week because I had a doctor’s appointment and then hubby and I went out to lunch. It was nice to have a date with the hubster and it ended up being a relaxing day.

It’s also the last week of school for my kids. They’re so excited and I must say so am I. I don’t know if it’s because we had such an obnoxiously long winter or what, but I’m feeling a little wrung out.

We have great plans for the summer. We’re going to vacation up north on Torch Lake for a couple of weeks. Everyone in the family enjoys these trips, even our cat Lily. 🙂

 

Taking a vacation is a great stress reliever for parents and kids. Sometimes we forget the stresses that kids deal with on a daily basis, the stress of peer pressure, school pressures, and trying to figure out where they fit into the world.

By removing your child from that environment, you give them an opportunity to spend time with the family and strengthen those bonds. I know most teens will protest having to take time away from their friends, but I think it’s good for them. I’m going to go out on a limb and say spending time alone is good for teens too.

Not too much time alone, but a child needs to have a good relationship with herself as well. Therefore, when the ugliness of peer pressure rears its head, hopefully she’ll choose what’s best for her, and not go along with the crowd because she’s afraid of being alone. She’ll have had some practice and it won’t be as scary.

It’s important for kids and teens to learn how to entertain themselves. That way they’re less dependent on others for entertainment and approval. It’s okay to be a little bit of a loner if your friends are engaging in less than desirable behavior. I’m hoping to teach my kids this. In my opinion, it might even alleviate some of the stress of dealing with peer pressure.

Well…I certainly went off on a tangent there, but that’s okay…after all this is my page to ramble. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and if you’d like to share your thoughts on vacations, kids, or stress feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to read them!