“Don’t Get Your Tinsel In A Tangle”

I’ve been seeing this little ‘gem of advice‘ scrolled across a multitude of items lately and at first glance chuckled at the smart use of metaphorical alliteration (okay, so I’ve been spending a little too much time with 5th graders.)

But at second glance the intention behind the words came screaming out at me. More than likely this is due to the fact that I was standing behind a customer at Dollar Tree who was angrily complaining to the less-than-engaged clerk that the “quality” of her dollar items is rapidly declining, all the while piling about $75 worth of quality-lacking items on the belt. In an effort to distract myself from the growing desire to politely tell this woman to take a long walk off a short bridge I began perusing an end cap near me. And there sat a beauty of a coffee mug with an ironically time-appropriate message slashed across the front…

“Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle.”

This time of year can bring out the very best and very worst in us. The pressure of the season can make or break a person and although some lucky birds flourish and thrive with timelines and high expectations, some most definitely do not. We have set ourselves up with such high expectations and responsibilities to make this the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER we are taking away the possibility of accomplishing the very goal we should be striving towards…Peace.

This season is a time for reflection. It’s a time for appreciation and gratitude. For many of us, it’s a season to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

It is NOT a time for mourning our failed attempts at the following:

• successfully recreating the last scene from Grease with your Elfs on the Shelf, Buddy and Cindy;
• the less than creamy fudge that’s supposed to be going to the neighbor;
• the “Johnny has 7 presents and Sally only has 6…oh NO” dilemma;
• homemade ginger bread houses with walls so crooked that actual construction would be a Christmas miracle;
• preplanning enough “just in case” presents leaving you scrambling to wrap up a half-burned candle and a candy cane for that friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend who shows up at your door with a bottle of wine and a plate of cookies.

None of the above is worth getting your “tinsel in a tangle” friends. Let’s all promise to scale back the expectations of Christmas. Let’s all work towards celebrating the season with grace for ourselves and for others. Let’s calm down and spend the day reflecting and enjoying, not bullet-pointing the next day’s “To Do” list. Let’s all get nose-deep in some spiked nog and be present in the moment.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays my friends,

Mindy