The Pull of the Holidays

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4 (ESV)

Thank you Suzie Eller for just what I needed to hear!  My timing for this may be off since I am writing some blogs early in case I don’t get time when Belinda is home this week.  This was a reality check for me as I am now in the “married” stage of my life.  For some that may sound strange but Rob and I have only been married for a little over 2 years.  Suzie’s words made me stop and think.  She shared about being pulled in many directions when she was first married and how things changed when they had children.  Things changed again as those grown children had families of their own and new traditions.  I think back to my childhood of traveling from our house to my grandparents on Christmas morning to open gifts.  Breakfast at our house and gifts followed by the short trip to  my grandparents and more gifts followed by dinner with the family.  When Belinda was little, we tried that same tradition… WRONG!  As I said, since opening presents was a process, she never wanted to leave home.  So, our house became the one place that everyone gathered on Christmas morning and then after all was done – dinner was with family at someone else’s house.

This year, things are different.  I said something to Rob just before Christmas about just wanting to get to Friday for our family to be together.  He joked but I realized that I had hurt his feelings.  See, I am his family now.  Yes, he has his mom, a brother and a sister but once we got married, I was his family.  He is ready to start new traditions that are just ours.  Yes, he is excited that Belinda is coming home.    The truth is my comment made him feel like a third wheel or that Christmas was not important because I wasn’t with my family.  WOW!  Did Suzie’s words make me realize that I needed to change things?  So, on Christmas morning, we started our own tradition of having breakfast together and just enjoying each others company.  Most holidays Rob works so my goal is to make the time that we do spend together special.  It could be cooking breakfast or a special dinner in the crock pot – just something that is for us.

Are you pulled for the holidays?  Maybe these words will help you… “We told our children it’s not the date on the calendar that makes holidays special. It’s the heart behind them. It’s spending time with people you love.”  I know that they were a blessing for me.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!