Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Santa's Little Helper


I wrote this for my local MOPS group newsletter and since the blog has been a bit quiet lately I thought I might share.  We went up to NYC along with my parents for Thanksgiving this year and had a very memorable blast!  I'll try to post pictures from our adventure soon.

Christmas always finds some way to stress me out.  Or maybe it’s the other way around really.  It seems like I look at my calendar and to-do lists for the month and have an absolute meltdown.  I get so hung up on all the things I need to do that I can’t enjoy them when they’re actually happening.  I get so frustrated at myself every time, yet somehow every year those same feelings seem to surface. 

I somehow doubt I’m alone in this either.  In fact, in a survey taken back in 2006 the research group Greenberg Quinlan Rosner found that 38% of Americans report an increase of stress during the holidays.  And women disproportionately feel that stress!  Now that I have a little one in my house I certainly don’t want to project that stress on to her (which by the way ends up happening A LOT).  So what is a girl to do?

For starters I’m trying to let go a little bit.  You see I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so if all the Advent calendars aren’t ready to go by December 1 or all my presents aren’t Pinterest crafty I tend to freak out a little bit.  Something Dr. Diane Jones-Freeman said at our last meeting though has been bouncing around in my head the past couple of days: “I don’t have a perfect life but I have a good one.”  I’m not King Midas and I don’t have a golden touch.  In fact as I was recently reminded by a parody of this old fairytale on Sesame Street, I don’t want the golden touch.  So this holiday season I’m hoping to breathe a little easier.  And enjoy a few extra Peppermint Oreos while I’m at it!