Christmas Anyway 2

Editor's Note:  This is an excerpt from a blog published last year.  This is the year that I'm walking the walk.  No baking, no decorating.  Hasn't dampened the festivity so far.

Love It Fitness Jingle Bell Bash 2019, Video Snapshot

November 2018
"It’s not going to happen this year, at least not by next weekend.  I've been consumed by other things, but I'm sure I will get to Christmas sooner or later, and I will undoubtedly enjoy it as I always do.  Having said that, I know there will be a year when I choose to opt out. If I decide, this year or any year, that I’m not inspired to bake or decorate, I’m okay with that. Perhaps you're in the same place.  Maybe you've had some health issues this year, or challenges with work, family or relationships.  Maybe you're just caught up in something so exhilarating that you have no energy left over for the mechanics of holiday preparation.  So be it.  Give yourself a break.​

The decision to skip the annual Christmas routine, should you ever decide to try it, doesn't imply that you have forsaken the spirit of Christmas.  Not at all.  The spirit is everywhere.  It’s in the fellowship, the music, the community, the events and the memories.  Even more than that, it's in your heart and in your voice when you belt out the lyrics to a Christmas carol on the radio in your car en route to the grocery store.  Most of all, it's in the joy of giving to others, whether it be your compassion, your love or your time. This remains true with or without your homemade cookies, cedar bough garlands and Aunt May's traditional sweet potato casserole. ​
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May the joy of the holidays fill you this season and,
in the true spirit of giving, may you also be true to you."  ​