The Holidays

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"...Charles Dickens had something there.
You see the best of human spirit and kindness and the worst of mankind come out during the holidays. Just add liquor and too much sugar...
I look forward to the holidays, but I am also very conscious about how much time I can spend with certain family members, how much egg nog to have, and what years I should just fly to an island and retreat.
People lose their minds during the holidays - the stress of travel is just the beginning. At the airport, thousands and thousands of families are crossing the country to reconnect during this special time of year. The smiles and the giggles have just as much impact as the tears and the screaming matches. My heart breaks every day during this season, but is filled with the love that is pouring through this vehicle of family connection. The children are so excited to tell you they are going to Florida to see Grandpa and Santa will find them ...even in Orlando.
Or the thousands of Unaccompanied Minors who all have a story to tell you about skiing in Aspen, or how their dad is always late picking them up.

There is much to be said about unresolved family issues that explode during the second course of Christmas dinner. Aunt Madge makes a simple comment about Dad's job, "Hey, how did that new promotion work out", and Dad throws a biscuit across the table. Years of Aunt Madge "putting him down...he'll never be good enough", etc etc is what Dad heard. Meanwhile Mom is throwing back G & T's in the kitchen because Grandma has been hovering over the turkey all day, "helping".
Funny enough, as different as every household looks like, they are remarkably similar. Every family has their good times and their bad times. It's when they pull together at times like the holidays when each gets to see how special they are.
Spread love this season. Try to remember that everyone is hanging on to something that was way more important to them than you know, and just let it go.

Find the mistletoe, and let it go.
This Christmas..