Tis’ the season!!!! It is absolutely my FAVORITE time of year!!!! As I sit in my office with a sleeping baby on my lap, coffee in a mug, Christmas music on and a tree lit with a fireplace in the background, I am reminded of just how fast life goes.
The other day before school my daughter Brooklynne asked me to play the “good morning good night” game with her. (It’s when we cover her with her comforter then pull it off and tickle her, then we do it over and over full of laughter and smiles.) My first response was, “We don’t have time, let’s go!” Then a voice in my mind said, “STOP, you do have time. We all have it, choose wisely.” So guess what, we played good morning good night for 2 minutes and WE HAD TIME.
We then went downstairs to get her backpack ready and she found her library book that we haven’t had “time” to read. She asked to read it and yep, you guessed right. I responded with “We don’t have time, let’s go!” Then a voice in my mind said, “STOP, you do have time. We all have it, choose wisely.” So guess what, we read the book while she ate breakfast with the baby on my lap and WE HAD TIME.
You are probably wondering what this has to do with the holidays…..my point? We have time. All good things come with stress. In fact, all GREAT things come with stress. My mom always says “the things that MUST get done always do!” New baby? Stressful and life-changing! New home? Stressful and life-changing! New Job? Stressful and life-changing. They are all great and make life a JOY. There are also sad things that make life stressful, passing, sickness, loss of jobs and more….THAT is WHY we must make time for the little, crazy, funny, happy things in life.
The holidays growing up in the Chin house were absolutely MAGICAL. Not because of big gifts, not because there was never any family drama, not because of any of those things. They were magical because the best gift my parents ever gave us was their time. Most people look at time through a scarcity mindset, not my Santa and Mrs. Claus. I remember wanting to play and my dad would say “I have to vacuum but hop on!” and I would ride around “driving” the vacuum like a car. He made time from “No time.” When we wanted to bake a cake for dessert and there was “No time” magically at the end of whatever we were doing in the house a cake would appear. We never would even notice our mom slip off and mix it up. She said, “5 minutes mixing creates a lifetime of memories.” We never knew because while the cake was baking we were cleaning, decorating, doing homework, always doing something….my mom? She made time from “No time.” They looked at time in abundance. They would say “We all have it, choose wisely.”
So this holiday season STOP. We do have time. It’s perhaps the most important things we will make time for…our kiddos, family, and friends. So I return back to where we began…..life goes by way too fast and once it passes us it’s like the wind. We can’t get it back. Go to the dinner, bake the cake, turn your vacuum into a car, play the game, read the book and most of all enjoy every second of this thing called life. I want my kids to remember the holidays and say, “my mom always had time, she always brought the magic…” not “ We didn’t have time.”
Find your inner holiday magic, it’s a mindset and that IS something we have control over. Like Santa said in the Miracle of 34th street, “Oh, Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind…”
From our Family to yours, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and may the New Year bring you all blessings, health, peace and….time<3.
Miss Jennifer