By Suzanne Sumi
It is the time of the year when several of my friends start to get stressed. Much more stressed than other times of the year. I can say, as the daughter of a minister, that in my childhood I noticed this in the family I grew up in. About every three or four days my dad would call my mom and announce that he would be bringing several guests for dinner. Without much notice my mom would whip up a lovely dinner for them and welcome them into our home.
We, my brothers and I, all had jobs to do when those afternoon calls came in. Together we got it done. I never knew if my mom felt stressed or not, she never let on. Now that I am an adult I know that there was stress. I am not a fan of stress. I don’t know many of us who are.
With the holiday season having arrived…mighty early this year, I wanted to share a few resources that I have found helpful in my years of having little ones around.
Stephanie, a 3 to 5’s mom, reminded me of a book called I Love You Rituals by Becky A. Bailey. It is a great book about remembering that connection and relationships are important parts of family life.
I have a friend who recently retired after 45 years in the early childhood business, both as a teacher and a Parent Educator. She has written a book about rituals too. Her book is Heart Tending by Karin Watson. Her book is full of reminders that a lot of what we do already is ritualized into our day and that is what connects us to the ones we love.
The last book recommendation I have is Unplug the Christmas Machine by Jo Robinson. This book was written about twenty or so years ago and has some information that I found useful.
Whatever your family does to celebrate this time of year, please remember to get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, play outside, eat good food, connect with the ones you love and HAVE FUN!