Holidays and food—they just go together. This though comes to mind every time I’m invited to a holiday celebration that involves lots of food—and don’t they all? It’s called “Michael’s Thanksgiving Day Prayer” but it might just as well be called “Everyone’s Christmas Prayer,” or “The Holiday ... Read More
“Falling” Into Christmas – Step 10 – Daily Accountability
Quoting my daughter…“Sometimes I think the most constant thought in the mind of a little boy is, "What should I do next to drive my mother crazy?” My daughter called and related the following experience to me. She said she might call it, “Wild Boys on the Loose,” “Irresponsible Mothers,” ... Read More
Merry Christmas and “Dime Store” Serenity – Step 12 Service
As far back as I can remember the Christmas season seemed to bring with it both excitement and anxiety. I grew up as the oldest child in a family of nine. When December 1st rolled around one of my biggest concerns was how to get enough money to buy each of my siblings and my parents a Christmas ... Read More
Up, Up, and Away with Christmas!
This year I’m trying to decorate up or back or out! Up with all manger scene pieces, back with the musical snow globe, and outside with the unstable wooden reindeer I usually set on the hearth. The idea is to somehow keep as many Christmassy things within sight, but out of reach of the twenty ... Read More
Think Small – Doing the Next Right Thing – Step 11
When the requirements of the season get BIG I have to think small. I doesn’t matter whether the season is Thanksgiving or Christmas or a season of great sorrow or heart-wrenching trial or enormous responsibility or wonderful celebration…I have to think small. Today I learned something new about the ... Read More
The Only Real Gift in the Room – Steps 6 and 7
A good friend of mine invited me to a party over the holidays. It was a gift exchange. Each woman invited was asked to purchase an ornament and bring it to the party wrapped. Having had no experience with this kind of an activity I asked the hostess, “What kind of an ornament?” “Oh, you know, one ... Read More
Reindeer Resistance – All Steps
On the Monday morning before Christmas I went to the gym for my usual first day of the week work out, water aerobics, a class I love. I was fully prepared to swim, but as I walked past the pool and glanced at my classmates who had already entered the water I had second and even third thoughts. Now ... Read More
With One or With All – 12 Step Parenting and Prevention
I clearly remember the day I sent my first child off to public school. She wasn’t the traditional child of five. She was a teenager entering junior high school after being taught at home for six years. She was the first of five to leave my little educational nest. I prepared her that day with all ... Read More
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