Surviving the holiday season.

Happy holidays to all.  I hope everyone survived with some sanity.  I find that holidays can be a very stressful time and for some depressing.  I am lucky to have a wealth of family and friends to share celebrations with.

However, it is an exhausting time of the year for me.  The last couple countdown days to christmas were as usual hectic.  Have you ever gone to the mall the day before Christmas Eve?!  I don't do well with crowds.  My hubby wanted to finish up getting the gifts.  The mall was hot and crowded.  I couldn't wait to get out!  Hubby and I had a bit of an arguement over which snowglobe to get his mom.  To avoid getting more annoyed I finally told him to pick out the globe.  I turn and I see a lady standing by that must have heard us and was knowingly smiling. That brought me down to earth!  I took a few breathes and reminded myself to chill. :)

I took the manta "calm" with me through the rest of the weekend.  It certainly helped and I enjoyed the family gatherings.

I don't need the extra stress since it will just increase my pain level.  Actually being able to overlook the usual family annoyances really keep me comfortable.  I was able to focus on the "fun" stuff.  Watching the grandkids open their gifts was something I would have hated to miss because of my ills!

Every moment I can manage stress and my chronic ills to enjoy the events unfolding are very precious indeed.

BB to all.