Constant Comment tea.

The Christmas mug with the nearly faded snow man. 

A splash of milk.

A teaspoon of superfine granulated sugar.

A sip.

And peace descends.

Where I live Christmas is already on its way.

It’s time to take a look at my list.

My list changes every year.  Sometimes it’s long, other times not.

Things change and situations differ. 

People fall off and new ones get signed up.

The older I get the less conforming I have become.

In my younger days I’d give gifts to every Tom, Dick and Harry.

I just thought it was the thing to do.

Didn’t matter if there was no meaning.

Just give a token gift and get the season over with.

I know better now.

When I began making changes in my life, my list was affected too.

It got short rather quickly but I must say it’s a more meaningful list.

I take my time and buy quality over quantity 

When I give it comes deep from within.

Not by obligation or conformity.

Just honest to goodness genuine giving with the warmth of love and gratitude.

I should be kinder in my thoughts more accepting of other’s generosity but 

I think I’ve been in others’ Christmas lists for too long.

Last year I announced at the onset of the holidays, “no gifts for me please.  I appreciate being remembered however, as part of my turning 50 bucket list, I would like to request that you pay forward gratitude to someone else in genuine need.”

Now that Christmas is on it’s way again, I’d like to turn the situation around and take stock of what’s given to me.

I don’t mean to be presumptuous but I can tell when something is given from the heart.

And I definitely can sense when something is given for the sake of giving.

There’s warmth that surrounds a gift given with love and sincerity.

My dilemma is what to do with gifts I do not need.

Food is easy because where I live there’s enough people to share the love.

It’s other gifts that I sometimes struggle with and end up lost on whom to pass them on to.

I do not recycle unless it is something I would have personally bought and considered giving away.

Much as I would like to keep everything, it’s not possible.

Space is limited and less is more.

 This makes me curious.

What do others do with gifts they receive that serve no purpose?

It’s easy to donate or discard however I prefer to pass on with purpose.

I opened my drawers and realized that I still have gifts from past Christmases.

Friendship is far stronger than any form of gift giving.

Am I a scrooge for wanting to cut down on the gift receiving?

Am I worse than a scrooge by requesting no gifts for me this Christmas?

At this point in my life, the less I accumulate, the better.

I don’t want to be misunderstood and this can be a touchy topic.

Share your thoughts please?

I am assuming.

The moment September arrives Christmas carols play everywhere.

Even though there are few more universal celebrations to look forward to like Halloween and Thanksgiving, nothing gets into the way of the “ber” months.

Everyone becomes excitable!  Preparations begin way ahead of time.

One would think that by the time December arrives the mood would go stale.

No way!  It only gets crazier with more traditions and festivities coming to play.

The only thing missing is the weather. No fall and definitely no winter.

It’s either rain or shine. 

No storm can dampen the mood of Christmas in the Philippines.

Deck the halls with boughs of holy, fa la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.

I think I got it!  That’s one “fa” and eight “la’s”.

It’s Christmas day!

I woke up to the sun shining.

Today’s weather is friendly.

I think if you let the weather be,

It’ll eventually come around.

Just like life.

Leave it to the Universe and things happen.

No sense trying to control the impossible.

It’s going to be a pleasant Christmas after all.