Conscious Family Journal

Easing into Christmas

 

What a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Together with over sixty relatives and friends, the Brown family celebrated for three days straight.

 

We gave thanks for good health and good fortune. We said “Happy Birthday” and “Happy Holidays.” We took family photos, documenting the rapid growth of our children and the graceful aging (we hope) of the rest of us.

 

We ate and ate and ate and ate.

 

We shopped (just a little.)

 

By Saturday afternoon, everyone was loading suitcases and fueling automobiles, trying to beat the Sunday traffic. I think we all succeeded. Although, I haven’t gotten an official report from one of my sisters, who was driving overnight with her husband and six kids, from upstate New York to North Carolina.

 

Whew.

 

As we pulled back into town yesterday, we started noticing Christmas lights. Some of our neighbors have been busy little beavers. (Although, I suspect a couple of them leave their lights up year-round and simply turn them on when Advent arrives.) When we made a quick grocery run, we saw freshly cut Christmas trees, tied to cars in the parking lot.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

 

So, it has been shaping up to be a typical holiday weekend. I've been racing around for about seventy-two hours straight, gearing up and getting organized.

Thanksgiving is THE big holiday in the extended Brown family. It is the one time during the year when my parents, siblings, their spouses and kids and other assorted special people gather in upstate New York for a weekend filled with celebration.

This year, there will be Thanksgiving dinner for fifty on Thursday; a Christmas gift exchange for the kids and "Yankee Swap" for the adults on Friday; a 75th birthday celebration Friday evening; and a family mass with baptism (and brunch) on Saturday.

No big deal.

Actually, it is a big deal. These will be truly wonderful events and I am thrilled to participate, but it all takes a whole lot of planning and preparation. I've been ignoring my usual wellness practices, in favor of checking one more thing off my To-Do list. I am tired and cranky and stiff.

And I ate too much chocolate today. It was a defensive measure.

Conscious Parenting and A Really Good Week

 

Dear Diary: I’ve received a couple calls and emails recently, from well-meaning friends, asking why I haven’t written. (Well, the call from my father wasn’t really “asking.” It was more of a parental directive to get back on the job and produce something.)

 

Usually, when there is a lull in my writing, it is because we’ve been experiencing a particularly trying week in the Brown household. “Something came up” that kept me away from my computer, etc. etc.

 

This time, I cannot claim such a defense. The truth is, I haven’t written because I’ve been having too much fun.

 

Yup. Just hanging out with the kids, making dinner, doing homework assignments. Going to the movies.

 

I got distracted.

My apologies.

  

This one’s for you, Dad.

  

  

Today I noticed that I am loving my life, just the way it is. I don’t know why I’m feeling so great; this happiness just sort of crept up on me. What’s going on?

Honoring Our Veterans

Veterans Day may feel like just another day off from school for most kids and that's a shame.

I invite you to take some time today, to remind your children (and yourself) of the countless people whose personal sacrifice has made it possible to live where we do today, as we do today.

Perhaps, say a special prayer for the children who have lost a parent in service of our country... as well as for those whose parent(s) are serving overseas this very moment.

Take some time to make this a day of remembrance and gratitude, regardless of your political beliefs.

You might also want to remind your children that November 11th is celebrated as Armistice Day in much of the world. The armistice that ended World War I was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

The Truth About Adoption

 

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. Why do we need to be aware? Because there are approximately 130,000 children in foster care in America right now, waiting to be adopted. These children do not have a "forever family." At least, not yet.

  

 

Is adoption part of your personal story? Was your family formed or expanded through adoption? If not, here is a secret I want to share with you, about adoptive families: We’re not that special.

 

We might be a little unusual, and our individual stories might make us interesting in some circles, but we are mostly just like you.

 

Equal parts happy, crazy, challenged and blissful.

  

The truth is, most days I don’t even think about adoption. My day-to-day existence is more than consumed by the usual complexities of family life: Getting the boys to school on time; pushing another load of laundry through the washer and dryer; paying some bills.

  

When I look at my children, I do not see strangers looking back at me. I rarely note the differences in skin tone or eye color. I forget that we haven’t always been together.

  

What I see are my children. And what I feel is a deep, tugging sensation coming from the vicinity of my womb. Regardless of the circumstances of their birth, we are connected.