This time of year is busy and it is so easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle. If you hold the organizational, planning, shopping, cooking, and wrapping role in your family, you know what I am talking about. The to do list grows accompanied by self imposed pressure to make everything just so to make sure all have a wonderful season. In that, I have learned that despite the added activity and tasks, there is so much joy. Most of the time, it is obvious - like the daily search for the little guy in the "O" of JOY. Sometimes it takes our action to make it so - seeking out those in need of joy or choosing joy when it is hard. And sometimes you have to be on the look out for it. You are so cramped in the midst of it, that you forget that you are surrounded by joy. Even when we are outside of our comfort zones, walking through valleys, or scrunched up under pressure like my little elf in this picture, one of the gifts and reasons for this season is that joy and peace is always near. We just need to invite it in. A gift of joy that I am giving myself today is to do my catch up blog in one post. It will bring me joy to have some memories preserved while not trying to get extra posts done in the already busy days.
Graduation for the PA students I have the privilege of teaching was Saturday. The students work tremendously hard to reach excellence and we are always so honored to be part of their process. It is also such a joy to meet their families. And I am pretty sure not having hours and hours of studying to do every day is bringing them great joy!
Perhaps the master of finding joy, Big b used his free time creating games while helping his grandparents in the in between. Above, he has created cabin basketball. It is a squishy stressball shot into a trash can. Below he has created cabin trash bowling. The same squishy stress ball serves to be rolled to knock down the "pins". It is a true gift to bring such positivity and fun to nearly everything he does. I am so glad he is home now because he definitely increases the joy in this house.
Finally, perhaps the greatest joy comes from time watching the connections of family. Perhaps a little cheesy but nothing like some bumpy roads to refocus your lens for joy. When the Colorado crew landed, my kids were coaxing my dad to tell some stories. What is hilarious about this is that I have never known my dad to need any coaxing to tell a story. The kids asked me, do you have to be a grandpa to be a good storyteller. I assured them this wasn't the what gave Pawee this gift. It was the ability to not be afraid to embellish the truth with some creative remembering. He never abandons the truth, just adds some color commentary around it. Whatever the case may be, watching them happily putting off bedtime to listen to stories from his childhood may be the best "holding court" he has ever had.
The challenges my mom and dad have faced over the last year have been hard. If you would have told me we would walk through it with so much joy and fun, I would have never believed. Here is stand, seeing joy, everywhere I look, and it was there every step of the way.
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