I Am Grateful

I am so grateful for this Christmas. Another opportunity to spend another year with family and loved ones, for better or worse.

Initially, I was kind of loathing the whole process. I'm a bit of an introvert, so spending time for a prolonged period of time with relatives and exchanging gifts that are kind of obligatory didn't sound like the best way to spend my day at the time.

However, the whole dreadful process is kind of an eye-opener. It's sad that we need a national holiday to bring everyone together like this. It's sad that I need a yearly reminder that giving gifts to people I care about 'is a thing'. Sure, the process of preparing... the stress over gifts, and the anxiety of socializing are mildly unpleasant, but the end result is always, "Why don't we do this more often?"

So, I'm grateful for this holiday. As much as I dread it every year, this time it opened my eyes to the kind of person and practices that I want to bring into the new year. I want to take more time to show my appreciation for the loved ones in my life by giving them a present (monetary or not... could just be a word of thanks) and spending more time with my relatives, no matter how much they may grate on my nerves at times, because nothing is promised. And I surely appreciate them being around to bother me, more than having any years without.

Merry Christmas, everyone!