I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I dream of fun family gatherings, the magic of Christmas morning, twinkly lights, creating fond memories, feelings of love and appreciation... All of that seems entirely possible as fall winds down and Thanksgiving approaches. Feeling used Then I put a lot of effort into a full-out [...]
The other night in my writing group we wrote about the best gift or gifts we had ever received. I am fortunate. I had three different gifts come to mind. One was a Snow White miniature kitchen I found under the Christmas tree when I was five years old. I can't remember if the kitchen was [...]
As we plunge into the holiday season, I thought it would be a good time to take inventory of our go-to behaviors for relieving stress. Internal resources According to Julie M. Simon, LMFT and author of When Food Is Comfort, if we grew up with encouraging nurturing caregivers, we acquire capabilities such as personal competencies and [...]
Photo by Val Vesa via Unsplash It's Tuesday morning and I'm working through my to do list to get prepared for Thanksgiving. I'm hosting this year. My sister and her family will be here along with my man Mark and his two sons. Mark and I both feel excited about this holiday season. We [...]
This time of year is pressure-filled and brings up old wounds. The holidays involve a lot of detail-minding and extra effort. Entertaining, holiday cards, gift buying, baking, decorating, party attending, putting up lights, traveling and making sure everyone is happy, take a lot of energy. All three of my children have birthdays during the holiday season [...]
