Where's the chill?

It is warm here in Georgia, has been for several days. Out west there is ice coating everything, the Midwest has snow, and we have record high temperatures. I know that I shouldn't complain, but I am...we have so little cold weather here that I want what we are entitled to at this time of the year! And I am always concerned that when the weather is out of whack, that we will be in for it when it finally corrects itself.

We took full advantage of the lovely weather on Sunday by going to one of our favorite places, the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Since our first visit there some eighteen months ago, we have all been entranced by this jewel in the heart of Midtown and immediately became members. We try to visit every couple of months to see the new exhibitions and to just experience the beauty. A especially enjoys the Children's Garden.

Our friend Dave went with us, and it was his first visit. In addition to introducing him to the Garden, we went to see the holiday decorations, and for A to ride the holiday train and visit with Santa. A was excited to be old enough to ride the train by himself and he made it very clear that he did not want any of us to join him.

For some reason, however, A suddenly got very shy and did not want to visit with Santa. Although we were disappointed, we were not going to force him...but the Garden has a beautiful outdoor display in which Santa holds court, and their Santa is fabulous.

We were having such a good time and the weather was so nice that we picked up some sandwiches and headed next door to Piedmont Park. We ate our picnic lunch, let A burn off even more energy playing in one of the playgrounds, and then strolled around the lake.

What a gorgeous day!

It's supposed to be fun, people

Some of the women in my mommies' group have been posting messages about how stressed they feel about the holidays, how much they have to do, that it's not fun, yada yada yada. I thought of them yesterday when I read an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about people who are turning away from a stressful, consumer-oriented Christmas and focusing more on what it means to them. The article originally appeared in USA Today with the title "Boycotters ask, 'What Would Jesus Buy?'", but don't let the title turn you off.

Both of my parents grew up during the Depression and Christmas, like everything in their lives, reflected that experience. While we had great Christmases growing up, our holiday was not overfilled with gifts like so many families. We focused more on being together, doing things together, connecting with family and friends. We were taught to be grateful for what we had and to not mourn what we did not have.

That has carried over to my adult life. Yes, we are going to have some wonderful gifts in our house this year, but probably not the amount that the typical US family has. We refuse to go into debt to buy gifts and understand that more gifts do not equal a great holiday. We do not buy gifts for extended family - we don't really know their likes/dislikes anymore, there are too many people, they live all over the country and there is really no reason.

I enjoy writing and sending holiday cards, and receiving them. I enjoy buying a few, well-thought out gifts for J, A, and our parents. I enjoy making goodies for us to overindulge in! I enjoy telling stories about Christmases past and remembering those good times. I enjoy going to a few parties and having a good time. I enjoy our various traditions and making up new ones each year. I enjoy teaching A to be compassionate by buying gifts for those who do not have much.

And that is why the holidays are not stressful for me. If the holidays ever become a time of stress for me, then that will be my cue to stop, assess what is important, and pare back.