I'm back, baby!

Hello Readers,

"Nobody puts Baby in the corner", lol! Well, I put myself in the corner to attend to a few much neglected areas of my life. But I'm back now!

As you may have noticed, I've been missing from the blogosphere. I was wrapped up in end-of-the-season soccer activities, Halloween and household "stuff". Part of the household "stuff" I worked on was a major, and I mean MAJOR office cleaning and organizing task. I'm not exaggerating when I say the space was looking like a scene from "Hoarders".  I didn't plan to tackle this particular task on this particular day. Oddly, this is a strategy that has always worked very well for me. One day I walked into my office at about 11:00 AM and didn't make it outta there until I picked up my son from school.  It was very unplanned yet highly productive. I got through piles that have been in here for as many as seven years. This room has never, ever been this clean. A strange thing happened the following day.  I was drinking my morning coffee and I started peeking in the 3 hanging file cabinets and the drawers I keep my greeting cards, envelopes, stamps, address book...you know, the usual stuff in a desk. I could NOT help but start cleaning out and organizing there too. That is NOT like me. Now my office is actually a peaceful and inspiring place to be.

During this time off I've also been "percolating" on some things I want to share with you. Way back when, I used to practice mental health counseling. This was many, many moons ago. The clinic I worked for put together a kind of "how to survive the holidays with your sanity in tact" type of seminar that never came to fruition. Sadly, some 11~ish years later, the message is one that I believe many families, in particular mothers, would like to hear.  Instead of merely "surviving" the holidays, I'd like to take a much more positive, and upbeat approach, focusing instead, on ENJOYING the holidays. Don't laugh, it IS possible even for those of us who aren't Pollyannas! In the following weeks I will be sharing with you some ways to help you and your family enjoy the upcoming holiday season. I invite you all to weigh in on my ideas and to please, oh please, share some of your own personal wisdom on the subject!

Have a lovely Thursday,
Deanna