Winter is . . . um, here.

It's the Winter Solstice, again.

In case you'd like a reminder about some of the Winter Solstice customs, I wrote a rather detailed post about it last year.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Heavy, via Imagur, for this meme.

Preparing: are you?

We all have our own way of confronting (or trying to hide from) the Holidays. 

It's not ONLY Christmas, of course--although both secular and sacred Christmas imagery and messaging seem to be everywhere in my Kansas City environment. From Festivus to Kwanzaa, from Hanukkah to  Winter Solstice celebrations to Yule, there seems to be a holiday for everybody at this time of year.

Whatever holidays you celebrate, how's it going? We're at the mid-point of December. Are you ready?

Perhaps you're one of those organized, super-prepared people, who've been buying a building stockpile of presents since last January. You already have you holiday greeting cards in the mail (or your e-cards pre-loaded to send at just the perfect moment).

Perhaps you're in the thick of it now--still working on the gift list, still considering your plans. Partway there--getting there--but not done yet. That's about where I am: working on it. If you're still looking for creative gift-wrapping ideas, you may find some of my last-December Image-of-Interest posts helpful.

Or maybe you prefer to live dangerously, and save your shopping/decorating/cooking for the last possible second. Good luck, and may the Creative Force be with you, all you last-minute thrill-seekers!

No matter how you celebrate--and no matter which, if any, holidays you celebrate--I hope you find some merriment along the way!

IMAGES: Many thanks to the Explore December Holidays Pinterest Board, for the "paper dolls" image, and the talented and creative Debbi Ridpath Ohi, via The Office, and John Atkinson, via Wrong Hands, for their humorous holiday images.

Artdog Quote of the Week: The Gift of Gratitude

If you celebrate a tradition of Christmas, that holiday is most likely now in the rearview, unless your family has had to adjust it to accommodate an eccentric schedule. 

It's bare (or piled with opened gifts on display) under your tree, the carols are all sung, the egg nog mostly drunk, and the cookies are crumbling to dust. 

But have you given that one last gift?

Did you wear yourself out for the holidays? Did you shop for gifts in crowded places, and strain your imagination for just the right gift for each person? Even if you paced yourself wisely, it was a lot of effort, wasn't it? 

Wouldn't it be nice to know someone actually noticed? Or even better: appreciated all you've done?

That's how we all feel, really. It's nice to know someone noticed, and appreciated the work we did. So before you start wondering if anyone even noticed what YOU did, consider whether you've thanked anyone for what they did for you.

My amazing daughter Signy is the Queen of Thank-You Notes. That girl gets them sent almost before the gift is fully unwrapped. Not sure how she does it, but she's faithful in her task, and eloquent in her individualized expressions of thanks. I am not such a paragon, but I deeply admire what she does.

Even cold-hearted capitalism has noticed the power of a simple thank-you, in business settings. We need to hear it. The validation improves our health, our outlook, our relationships. So don't be shy! Thank someone who deserves it!

Oh, and by the way . . . THANK YOU for reading this!

IMAGES: Many thanks to Angie Rowe’s “Gratitude and Thankfulness” Pinterest board, for the quote image, and to the Overture Group for the image of someone writing "Thank you." Their blog post on crafting thank-you notes is also worth reading.

Artdog Quote of the Week: The Greatest Christmas Gift

Last Monday I shared a quote and talked about reaching out to others whom we may not appreciate. 

But for mortals such as us, time is a finite thing. With whom should we spend most of that finite resource? 

We probably all have heard the quote from Rabbi Kushner, "Nobody on their deathbed has ever said, 'I wish I had spent more time at the office.'" 

How does that apply to your life? 

Ted Andressen had wise
words for a younger
colleague in a recent
episode of Nightwatch.

I recently saw a practical expression of this, on a reality TV show called Nightwatch (on A&E), in which an older Paramedic was talking with a younger one about balancing work and life. He'd been married for a long time, had a wife whom he still loved, and grown kids who respected him. 

The younger man had a new baby, and was working a lot of hours. As young fathers do, he probably was worried about money. But the wise older man told him to pay attention to the important things. 

That may not be you: no young baby, no wife or husband, no money issues. You may be in a different phase of life, and worried about different things. 

But are you telling your loved ones each day how much they mean to you? Are you taking time to focus and listen, not just talk about your own problems? Or worse, are you not talking at all?

Christmas (or any of the other holidays) can be hectic, and the time and money pressure can be fierce. But just as we are wise not to get too caught up in the trap of thinking that we can have a "perfect" Christmas if only we decorate, bake, send cards, etc., we also are wise to realize that a downsized Christmas gift list, if it allows us to be with our loved ones more, is the better choice. 

Christmas decorations and projects can be
fun--until they become just too much!

My sister Gigi and I once made an agreement that we would never let things become more important to us than people. And we are both happier for that decision.

May it be so for you, too. The blessings of Christmas or any holiday lie not in the piles of loot we might receive , but in the moments of true connection we can make. 

IMAGE: Many thanks to Short Stories LOVE for the quote image, to A&E's Nightwatch website for the photo of Ted Andressen, and the photo of "Rustic Christmas Decorations" from NewsCommonSense.

Artdog Image of Interest: Surprise!

As we gear up for Christmas card season (I know: it always comes too soon), here's a little something for the letter carrier.

Seriously, though--I'd like to thank all the postal workers (and delivery drivers) for their hard work all through the year--and especially during the holiday busy season! Thanks, and be safe out there!

IMAGE: Many thanks to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Facebook Page.