Now that the holidays have finally passed and all of the hustle and bustle has died down, we started to really think about what all of it meant to us.
With the down turn in the economy, it is no surprise that either we or someone close to us was struggling with money during this season. The holiday parties were less extravagant and fewer of them were thrown, while the Christmas tree had much less presents than the year before.
The gifts we did buy people had a little more thought put into them and hopefully, were on sale.
Maybe we got an iPad, or a new TV, or computer. But with money being tight, we found that the gift family was the strongest.
That’s why, despite all of this, it was one of the best holiday seasons we ever had. The things people got us we were a little more appreciative of and we took the extra few minutes to spend some time with that aunt, uncle or distant relative we never see.
Of course the weather helped a little too. For those who celebrate Christmas, there was snow on the ground. The fear of blizzards was held off for another day for any travelers and it was one of the warmest New Year’s we have seen in the Midwest in a long time.
Not having to worry about icy roads or frigid temperatures made it easier for us to enjoy those two weeks that hold holidays and the start of the new year.
Smiles and laughter was abundant and the worries of job hunting, paying the bills, relationships and any other stress seem to disappear if only for a few minutes.
It was enough to hold our heads a little higher and look at the brighter side of things. A little reminder of what is really important and at the end of the day, no matter what’s going on in our lives, it’s all going to be ok.
Maybe that’s what we should take with us into the new year. It’s easy to get caught up in the stress of our every day lives, but if we take a breath and start to look at things in a different light, well it’s really not that bad.
Maybe your job isn’t the greatest, and maybe your car eats a lot of gas, but everyone has something they can cling to.
With a little help from our friends and family, a little self-assurance and a lot of positive thinking, we can make it through whatever. And usually come out as better, stronger people for it in the end.