Letter from the Editor
Happy December, my friends!
In November, much to my delight, we got cozy. And I sure did like it. This month, I want to take that cozy to an even deeper level. I want more of that coziness and togetherness and snuggling and cuddling and laughing and making memories and drawing near to those we love.
I don’t know about you, but it’s been a tough year for me. Maybe I’ll share more sometime, or maybe I won’t. Suffice it to say that this year has brought more than its share of hardships. But you know what? I find myself exiting 2018 with an even greater sense of what is important. I have fostered an even greater appreciation for the joys in my life. And I have a deeper sense of gratitude.
As we enter December, I strongly want to avoid getting sucked into the stressful aspect of the season. I want to say no to the frivolous activities in order to open up more space to say yes to the meaningful moments.
December Word of the Month
The word of the month for December is tradition.
The meaning of the word tradition of course involves the passing down from generation to generation of beliefs and rituals. Truly, tradition is never more prevalent than during this holiday season. Indeed, both religious beliefs and familial patterns of activities dominate the season.
Traditions are very powerful. They give us a sense of security, of belonging, of order and pattern. And those are all sure things I’m craving. In the book The Secrets of Happy Families, the author quotes a professor at Emory University as saying, “The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem, and the more successfully they believed their families functioned.”
This season, I want to both (a) embrace long-standing traditions, and (b) create new traditions with my daughter. Certainly, we aren’t bound by any set of traditions. Furthermore, maybe your family doesn’t have a historically strong track record of traditions. Well, the beautiful thing is that we have the freedom to craft our holiday traditions to look as we wish for our own little families! We can develop our own family traditions and stories and narratives and values and so on and so forth.
You might have seen the holiday bucket list I made in preparation for December. I did that for one main reason: I want to be intentional with the traditions I create for my little family. And I’d encourage you to do the same.
Prayers to you for your trying year Carrie. Remember God has a plan for you and wants you to be happy. Happy Holidays and kudos to you for trying to focus on whats important this season. Lets all let the materialistic aspects of it hover in the background while we try to honor being useful to others.
Absolutely! I wholeheartedly believe that. Thank you so much, Erica.