Finding Christmas

Getreadywithmemamma I am sooooo feeding Natalie in this pic. The fire pits at The Morton Arboretum Illumination lit the way throughout the night. This is an arbitrary breastfeeding shot, the Lactation Consultant that I am. As much, as I do feel like you should be able to feed your baby anywhere you need to, I still like to keep it chill and make it so that others don’t even know I’m doing it, but still do it confidently. My Mom has no idea and she took this shot. The night was magical and really started the spirit. Each year as you age, the Christmas spirit feels harder to find. It takes concerted effort to find your whimsy, to fill your heart with cheer. I think that that is the point. We all start as tiny Tim and evolve into different versions of Scrooge. We may not be as ornery, but our hearts get squeezed by life circumstances and adulting. It becomes hard. We go through heartbreak, loss, hurt, desertment, loss of job, loss of friendship, relationships. None of us get out of here not being orphaned and some of us leave behind widows and orphans and parents. Life is Haaaaard. It is. So, Christmas can be hard to find. It’s still worth looking for. Like the voice of Winnie the Pooh calling Christopher back to “The Hundred Acre Wood”, it haunts us and calls vaguely in the distance. Like imaginary friends of childhood left long ago in our life’s dust. Yet still. Put up a tree, hang some lights, buy a gift for a friend, clothe the homeless, attend church, smile and there there it is. It grows within each of us each year and expands us to give a little bit. Even when our hearts feel like they will burst not from joy, but from pain of the reality of what our life really is. I know this sounds dramatic, but it is real. We all hide it, our real pain, our real feelings. But the spirit remembers, the spirit knows. So, go into the season and return to the magic. The light in the child’s eyes to have something more powerful than anything that adults seek to feel powerful. That something is Hope. 💕❤️❤️❤️🎄🎊