Holiday time

It occurs to me as I write this, that many of us are probably dealing with holiday stress right about now, or at least will be some time soon. Between the holiday cards, shopping,  the get-togethers and the family gatherings, the holidays can be a whole lot of work. It can be a pretty exhausting time, especially for us introverts who have to spend more time being social than maybe we’re used to.

I was thinking earlier about trying to see the holidays in a different light. I can’t really change the social aspects of it, but rather than dreading the shopping and other things, I’ve decided to see the holidays as more of an opportunity.

As we go through life, there are precious few opportunities to show the people you care about just how much you do care. For me, at least, it just doesn’t really feel normal to express appreciation for the people that I truly do appreciate it. Most of the time I’m too busy, even when I’m spending time with friends and family, to show any appreciation for them.

The holidays, though, provide a great opportunity to do that. Let’s face it, this is the one time of year you can think about what your friends need, go out, buy it for them or make something for them, give it to them, and no one has to feel weird about that. It’s perfectly normal. 😉

So, I’m going to spend some time thinking about how I can show appreciation to the people who are most important to me, starting, naturally, with my wife. As much as I love my friends, and value their friendship, it still doesn’t compare to how much appreciation I have for my wife. Now I just have to find the perfect gift that says that, which is never easy, but is worth the effort!