I love this week between Christmas and New Years. It gives me time to get my house back in order and to relax and enjoy the memories of the holiday along with wondering what this next year will bring. When my kids were at home and especially when they were little I remember watching them as they played with their new toys😊After all the excitement of Christmas they were much calmer and we were tired. Holidays can wear a person out….Ha!

This Christmas was different for me. We had planned to travel and spend it with my in-laws but because of sickness (I had a terrible cold and they were just getting over one) we decided to stay home. So it was me and my best friend (he was so sweet to make our time together special in every way). A quiet, relaxed, recuperating Christmas. It was a change, for sure.

One thing I am learning in this season of life is to make memories and to have an attitude of contentedness and thankfulness even when things don’t happen like I think they should. What I find detrimental to my ability in accomplishing this is when I begin to compare what is happening to me with what is happening with my kids, or my friends, or even what I see on social media. If you want to, you can find all sorts of reasons to feel sorry for yourself (believe me, I know). BUT if you want to enjoy your holiday and life in general, DON’T COMPARE or ASSUME or ANTICIPATE! Just ENJOY😂And smile a lot!

Here’s what we did this Christmas. My condo smelled wonderful the whole day. We started off with coffee and Bear Claw (is that how you spell it??) Donuts. A treat for us. Then my husband put on his apron and started cooking. First he make a Shrimp Bisque Soup that was to die for along with Jalapeño Cornbread. After that he made Herbed Pork Tenderloin (an Ina Garten recipe….it was wrapped in prosciutto) which he served with Bacon Wrapped Asparagus. AND we had his homemade Jeff Davis pie. We were so stuffed we couldn’t move, BUT we enjoyed every bite. And the smells were amazing. By the way, while he cooked (since he likes to do it all by himself and I get to clean up🤪)I got out a jigsaw puzzle and we watched movies. I also went for a walk….had to get rid of some of those calories!

Only thing I forgot was to get a picture of the Handsome Chef!

The point is, every season is challenging and you can’t rely on things always staying the same. You have to live in the moment…take it all in….learn from the hard times and enjoy the fun times. Don’t compare but be grateful and make new memories. We enjoyed facetime calls with our kids and saw all the toys the grandkids got for Christmas. (We also saw how tired the adults were…ha!) We talked to my in-laws several times as they were home by themselves too. My mother-in-law told me, “I refuse to be someone who complains about this time of life or let anyone feel sorry for me. It is what it is and I plan to make the most of it!” Thanks mother for that great advice!

Hope your Christmas was great and your New Year is Amazing and Blessed! (Can you believe it is 2020???!!!)