Aging with Grace

I’ve realized that sometimes you get no second chance and that it’s best to accept the gifts the world offers you.

Paulo Coelho

And so it begins, the mad rush to the holidays and year’s end. It always seems to me that once we get to Halloween the year is over in a blink of an eye. One moment we’re welcoming trick or treaters at the door and the next we’re pouring champagne and singing, Auld Lang Syne.

No matter how many times I promise myself that this time it will be different. This year, I will worry less about preparing the Thanksgiving meal and enjoy our family time together. This Christmas, I will breathe in the smells of pine and cinnamon wafting through the house. I will allow myself to be hypnotized by the sparkle of lights on the tree, while I listen to carols on the phonograph. I still find myself toasting in the New Year and wondering were it all went.

Once again, I am beginning to plan a menu for Thanksgiving. I have started a Christmas gift list and I have begun to pick up a few things, when I see something that is right for someone on my list. I have checked to make sure I have enough wrapping paper and cards. We’re off to the races. I work to check off the to-do lists in my planner and wonder how it will all get done.

As I push on the brakes and attempt to slow down, I tell myself that maybe, this year will be different. This year, I will take time to breathe, and enjoy the season. I will remember, that if the meal isn’t perfect, every decoration isn’t in it’s place and there is one less gift, the important thing is to be present in the moment.

I wish you grace and space this holiday season.