"Peace and Quiet"

Peace and Quiet" Did you ever hear your parents say this to you when you were younger??

I did.. "

I would just like a little peace and quiet girls ! " and I thought,,

How stupid. !!!! How boring !

Strange how life turns upside down and inside out as you get older. This is all I have yearned for this past year. My mantra... A little more ,,, you guessed it. "Peace and Quiet "

So as this crazy busy year comes to an end, with the holidays quickly approaching,, and me trying like heck to get to the bottom of "what" the holidays truly mean to me,,, I kept coming back to my mantra,, peace and quiet..

The past two years have been a roller coaster ride of emotions for me,,, And despite it all,,,, I kept coming back and yearning for,,, a little "Peace and Quiet " This mantra kept me coming back to whats obviously so important to me,,,

The holidays are so hurried and stressful... shopping shopping and more shopping. That seems to be all people are wrapped up in these days.. The "obligatory" gift giving,,, From the day before Thanksgiving til now,, I have avoided the TV at all costs because the sound of another "GREAT HOLIDLAY BLOW OUT SALE,,, was enough to make me want to "blow my brains out !

To me,, the meaning of holidays have been lost. To commercialism and material desires... I found myself looking inward to what really matters. ,, Ask yourselves,, What "REALLY "matters to you. I have found the same words resonating in my brain

"Peace and Quiet" "Family and Friends"

So this year, my husband and I took a different approach.. no extravegent gifts were bought.. We gave the gift of time.. Time to those that matter most. We enjoyed some wonderful lovely dinners with some of those that are closest and dearest to us. From Thanksgiving til now. Tomorrow we head out on a road trip to Tulsa to visit my brother and his wonderful family. This is a trip we have been longing for all year... To spend some much needed time with family so dear to us. So as the weeks have wound down,, especially this last one,, I have tried to remind myself to take pleasure in the little moments that bring joy and,,,,,, yep,, you guessed it..

"Peace and Quiet"

My advice,, Forget the stress... Lets face it,,, there is a LOT more peaceful moments in our lives ,,, rather than stressful ones. Its all a matter of how you look at things,, The more time you spend obsessing on the stressful moments,, the more time the peaceful moments get "lost in the shuffle" trust me,, I know this a lot easier said than done,

So this past week imparticular as the year comes to a close,, I have captured a few moments of what has brought me "peace, quiet and joy,,, " and here they are,,, In no particular order,,,



MY CHILDREN,,, need I say more...

Baking cookies,,, the smell of fresh mint infused candy cane cookies,, makes me lucky to have a beautiful kitchen to cook in and a wonderful husband to help me do the dishes afterwards,,,:)

Making home made cranberry dressing,, the sound of the cranberris crackling in the pan makes me awe inspired at how the smallest things can produce such BIG TASTE :)

The perfect way these candycanes lay in the freshly fallen snow in my front yard,,,,

Thw twinkling of the Christmas lights late at night makes me feel fortunate to have a home to lay my head and a home to decorate to my wildest expectations...

Have you ever stopped to "hear" or "See" a snowflake as it falls from the sky,, its TRULY epitomizes the "Sound of Silence" Hence,, "Peace and Quiet "

A "Fall" moment,, I had to throw in that i LOVE

Stop to smell the roses,,, or the leaves,,,, amazing how ONE SIMPLE LEAF can bring such amazement and awe to such a small person,,,, makes me want to be a child again...

So I encourage everyone the next few days of the holidays to take the time to enjoy the silence of a snowflake falling on the ground,, instead of cussing it out for making messy traffic conditions,, Take time to watch your children get messy eating at the dinner table and not obsess about how messy they are making themselves,, take time out to let your child stop and feel the leaf and see its many colors and wonder why its there,, instead of hurrying off to your next "to do"
Take time to indulge in what TRULY matters to you and what TRULY brings you joy and I guarantee,,,, you wont be any happier than the moment you DECIDE to be happy.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS and MERRY CHRISTMAS !