Happy Holidays and Welcome to December the last month.

Welcome To December and the holiday season
(c) 2015-16 P. Lynne Designs

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This will be a short post and I cannot believe that we are 4 weeks away from the end of the year.  I cannot say that 2016 was an easy year for me.  I had many ups and downs, some I liked and some that I wished I never set eyes on. These included health issues and financial issues.  I would elaborate, but now is not the time for regrets.

December is a happy time.  Like Thanksgiving, it is a time for families, for faith, and for giving of one’s self to others.  December is the first month for winter, snow, and bundling up in either heavy blankets or layers of clothing (complete with socks, gloves, scarf, and a hat). 

December is the month of Hanukah, Christmas, and Kwanza.  If you happen to have a family that celebrates all three (rare but true), plus you were born on during the month, imagine how many gifts you can get during the month.  Don’t look at me, I was born in the month of July, and my family celebrates the holiday of Christmas.  I tried one year to talk my mother to attend a first day of Kwanza event, but she quickly reminded me that Kwanza did not celebrate the birth of Christ the King, so, I left it at that.

I cannot tell you that I love this time of the year.  I actually start playing Christmas music in the middle of November.  I start looking for my decorations and getting the house ready to receive its holiday wear.  I am a little late on that task, so I better hurry.  The reason why I am a little late is I am in the midst of organizing my house.  It calls for me to throw out some things, and prepare to pack away some things.  I cannot wait to bake cookies with my mom (I still do that).  I only went one day of black Friday weekend shopping, but I bought the things I was in desperate need of, and a blanket.  I will be doing online shopping this weekend.  I had my own products to sell this past weekend.  No orders, and I will have details of that in another post following this one.

Challenge

I have a task for you.  During this time of the season (no matter what holiday you celebrate, all requires giving), please do the following:

·         Give more of yourself and less of the material things.  This includes teaching your children of the importance of giving, charity giving, and time giving at a shelter.

·         Try to pay for things with cash.  Too many people go into debt this time of the year.  Yes, a debit card is considered cash.  It comes from your checking account.  If you cannot get a debit card from your bank or credit union, consider getting one from Target (which is called the Target Debit Red Card), or Paypal.

·         If you do use a credit card, try to pay it off as soon as possible.

·         Talk to someone if you need help with anything.  No one is judging you. 

These tasks are optional of course, but it helps put things into perspective to remain as positive as possible.  The more time you can give to others, the less time you will spend dwelling on your own shortcomings.  No one is perfect.

Well, to that end I want to wish you the happiest of holidays.  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and Happy Kwanza.  I will throw in the Happy New Year part later on in the month.  Be well, be safe, and be you, boo.