Friday, December 5, 2014

December Is...

december
December. The mere word seems to send so many into a tailspin.  It is a word that has become synonymous with stress and rushing around like a colony of ants. We can forget can’t we?  We can let all of the necessities and commitments feel like lead burdens around our neck. We have those December list don’t we? And we check them twice.
But December isn’t have-to’s and need-to’s.  It isn’t watching the Joneses and feeling green with envy. December isn’t meant for stress and strife, and it isn’t about obligation. December isn’t envying what the other moms, or dads, or co-workers are doing, and it certainly isn’t doing it better.  December isn’t rampant maniacal running to and fro. It isn’t “I haven’t got a thing to wear!” December isn’t meant to be the month of dreading and draining and dragging. It shouldn’t be must-do’s and “oh my I am out time!” It’s December. It’s December. Have you forgotten? Try and remember what this month means to some, to a child?  If the mere mention of December brings about anxiety and stress, perhaps it’d be better if we tried to remember what December IS?
December is tinsel and twinkle and treasure.
It is sparkle and snowflakes and celebration.
It is candlelight, strings-of-light, and starlight.
December is tradition great and small.
It is taking a running leap at a patch of ice on the sidewalk and careening toward a snowbank at warp speed.
It is the shoosh of ice skates on a frozen pond and the rumble of plows that drive by on a winter night.
December is the thrill of flying on a snowboard, a sled or on skis. It is the cold air stinging your cheeks.
It is itchy toes warming up.
December is honoring our heritage and our beliefs.
It is lighting candles in celebration, in remembering.
It is prayer.
It is majesty.
December is snuggling under a fuzzy blanket with just the soft light and sweet smell of the tree to accompany you.
December is food; mouth-watering, sweet, salty, stunning, glorious food that gathers us together.
It is the satisfying hum from the voices of those you love all in one place.
It is smiling.
It is kissing and hugging.
It is giving of your time, of your talent, and of things that are needed.
December is slow and steady and stillness
December is music; both old and new.
December is magic and moments.
December is love.