'Tis the Season to be Jolly..

I've always found that particular carol line to be peculiar. After all, from a statistical point-of-view, the Christmas season is actually the least-jolly time of the year. People are stressed, many feel lonely, reminders of loss are abundant, gift-givers are financially strapped and suicide rates climb to an all-year high.

Oh, right, this is a blog about being happy and positive...I'll get to that part..

I woke up the other morning (that was the first good news of the day) and started thinking about what makes me happy during the Christmas season? Well, for starters, SNOW makes me enormously happy.  I love the beauty of it when it falls, the peacefulness when the ground is covered and it glistens in the sunlight or moonlight.  It's like a cozy blanket covering the city.  I love that.  I love small gatherings of friends and family, the food, soft Christmas music, and sitting next to my twinkling tree while I sip my coffee in the morning. I love that. I love wood stoves, long Sunday runs, the smell of cloves and clementines, and watching the dogs skid around the yard with icicles stuck to their eyebrows.  I love that. I love staying in my pajamas from Christmas Eve until boxing day, new slippers, and having the children home from school for two weeks (okay maybe I'm more happy the 1st week).  So, there is a lot that I love about Christmas apparently.  I think I will embrace all that I love about the 'season to be jolly' and I'll turn away from the things that have provoked stress in me.  It is, after all, up to me to decide if I will have a happy holiday or not. I guess it really will be jolly. :0)