A Very Merry Grinchmas

I could not get myself into the holiday spirit this year. I feel like it gets worse and worse with each passing year (please tell me I am not alone in this). The stress of buying presents, hiding presents, planning dinner, organizing parties, attending parties, parades, cookie decorating, blah blah blah...it's enough to suck the life out of you. And don't even get me started on family Christmas card photos. Y'all, I was a Grinch.

I don't think I finally got into the spirit until O Come All Ye Faithful was sung at children's mass on Christmas Eve. That song reduces me to tears every time, and no not because Carol Brady was singing it when Mike came out of the mine during A Very Brady Christmas. Maybe it's because the song itself is a reminder of what the holiday is all about. There is no mention of presents, or decorating cookies that are Instagram worthy. It's simply O Come All Ye Faithful...joyful and triumphant. It's a reminder that this holiday is about a husband and wife who had a baby in a barn because that was the only place they could find. It's about the foundation of a faith that has raised not only me but countless other people on this planet (trust me I'm not going to go all religious in the post).

That was the moment when, much like the Grinch, my heart grew three full sizes. I looked at my family and smiled. This was what Christmas was about.

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and have recovered from the sugar/alcohol combination. I'm looking forward to 2019 and plan to push myself harder than I did in 2018. I have times to beat, muscles to gain, and myself to find again. I'll be honest, I have been seriously lazy since the marathon and just cannot get my mind in the right space for running. I'm hoping the new year will help clear some of the cobwebs and help me get back on the right track.

Wishing you a happy 2019!

A Christmas Reflection

Christmas time is my favorite time of year. I love the songs, the food, the traditions and the excitement my kids have.

Like many of us, I have a favorite Christmas carol, O Come All Ye Faithful. Now, I don't know why this is my favorite, is it because it's just a wonderful Christmas song, or maybe it's because it is the song that Mrs. Brady was singing when Mr. Brady came out of the mine that he was trapped in during the made for TV special, A Very Brady Christmas?

The jury is still out, it's a tough call.

It could also be the lyrics which, to me, give us the true meaning of Christmas and really drives the message home. 

Either way, with the tough week that it has been and the uncertainty in the world right now, I think O Come All Ye Faithful is a great song to get us through it all and prepare us for Christmas.