Cinco de Blogo

This blissful Saturday marks day 5 of the 31 day blog challenge and the first day that I didn't get right up and get my blog done early in the morning. What was I doing instead, you ask? (Yes, I know you didn't ask but humor me...) Well, Alissia, GK and I went to a puppy manners refresher course. Since the move, we've noticed a lack of effort on her part, which was largely preceded by a lack of working with her on Our part.

At the trainers, GK was back to her well behaved, not jumping up on little old ladies and trying to topple them with love, obedient self and the whole thing struck me as a nice illustration of how everyone needs a little refresher course now and then. I've had my fair share of training on things that matter to me and I still slip in and out of using it effectively. I've listened to/read/participated in/talked about/coached on the value of the present moment, stepping outside of a victim mentality and loving myself first so that I can love and serve others quite a bit but that doesn't mean that I don't have days where I use all of my tools effectively (or at all). Sometimes, my spiritual manners need some fine tuning. I usually notice it's time for a check up when blame is on the table.

Since I don't always have the time (or patience) to pick up a book or meditate myself back into a better state of mind, I often utilize easy ways to get myself back on track. Dancing like a goof, singing at the top of my lungs, running in sprinklers, you name it. If you notice a childlike theme to my solutions, it's because I have a much harder time seeing the world as a bad place when I'm laughing and playing, just like a child even though chronologically, I'm a bit outside of the age range.

Today, A Christmas Miracle occurred in our house. Long story short, a huge Christmas music playlist that Alissia lost in a breakup Years ago, magically reappeared in her ITunes today. My guess is that it has something to do with her cloud or some such, the point being it's back. Alissia LOVES Christmas... about as much as my mother LOVES Christmas, so she is uber excited and we spent a good 45 minutes listening to Christmas Carols. I'm partial to the foreign language, classical and opera ones as opposed to say Little Saint Nick by the Beach Boys but either way, we are both in a spirit of renewed giving and joy thanks to Christmas in October and I'm impressed with how just hearing those familiar songs reminded me of the excitement I used to feel around holidays when I was younger.

I'm eternally grateful for simple ways to reconnect with the joys of my childhood and while I resisted loving Christmas for many years out of bratty rebellion, I have to say that I'm reclaiming a love of it that I had lost for a very long time (Christmas Miracle number 2, though really that started last Christmas with no small amount of influence from Alissia). I'm still not going to decorate every square inch of my home in red, green, gold and Santa but a small part of me that I stuffed down during those silly years when I didn't want to be like my mother, is finally back. Now that I'm older and wiser, I know that I've inherited much of what I really like about myself from my mom and I'm Exceptionally glad to have come to that awareness as opposed to my ridiculous quest for independence in my 20s. :)

Sooo, my suggestion for the night is to put on some Christmas Carols, make yourself some cocoa and settle in for a cozy night with a book or a loved one. It's not quite the season yet, but it will do great things for your soul.