SONG OF THE WEEK: Riptide by Vance Joy

PROGRESS FOR THE WEEK: NaNo project–A few teaks on Chapters One and Two resulting in zero additional word count. Fun, new women’s fiction project–9,000 words. I think I’m seeing a pattern here.

I have a love/hate relationship with preachy posts that insist on you taking a break from the frantic holiday season to “remember the reason.” These posts act like people are flying around like headless, maniac chickens, non-stop holiday partying, buying up half the mall, and participating in endless unknown and unidentifiable Christmas activities, all while forgetting what’s important.

With Amazon, I rarely find a need to leave the house on November and December weekends. Yes, there are a handful of parties and events to attend in December, but I want to go to those. And if I’m invited to one that I really don’t want to attend, say for instance one of those sales pitches designed as a “party,” I simply kindly decline. As far as the reason for the season goes, I imagine this season has different meanings to different people, and I don’t think it my place to remind them to remember what it means to them.

But what I do want to encourage you to do is to take time for yourself this season whether that is to watch goofy, Lifetime-style Christmas movies (yes, please!), or to sip a chocolate peppermint martini while staring mindlessly at your Christmas tree lights. Whatever strikes your fancy, enjoy it this season. Because whatever this season means to you, it’s only here once a year. And man do the years fly by.

So cheers to you and yours this holiday season! May you carol ’til you’re hoarse, shop to you drop, and fall asleep to B-list actors from the 80’s and 90’s falling in love in a snowy Colorado village.