Quotations Weblog

We’ll be taking a week off for the holidays this year.

Happy Chrismahanuhkwanzakah!

Whatever you do or don’t celebrate this season, may it be a joyful one!

If you are stressing over a gift, remember this quote. It will help you decide where your heart is in this matter.

For me, the hardest gifts to fathom were coworker gifts. There were some coworkers that I really appreciated and I wanted to give them a little something at Christmas time. Then again, I didn’t want anyone to feel left out. I always felt kind of crappy when I noticed that other people got gifts and I was forgotten, and I didn’t want to make anyone feel like that. Then again, I felt horrible when I would get a gift and I didn’t have one to reciprocate. I didn’t want to forget the people I really appreciated, though. It was a wretched never-ending circle of thought that ended with me buying the same tiny boxes of chocolates for everyone, even the best people.

In the end, now that I’m gone from that office, what do I wish I did? Do I even care about those people I was so worried about “leaving out”? Now that I’m gone, do I worry about those people who did an exceptional job? No and no. I was open enough with my praise that the good people knew they were good. In the end, I should have just stopped worrying about all those coworker gifts and spent more time enjoying the holidays.

The best gifts I’ve received have been things like enthusiasm, honor and a sense of humor. The toys are all long gone and broken, but these gifts have stayed with me my whole life. If you are feeling stressed by the holiday and worried that you need to find that one perfect gift, remember that you are giving the best gifts to your children every day of your life.

It’s just Christmas.

“Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” I’ve heard it a lot over the PA systems at the mall and department stores. I have felt more peaceful this year than I have in a long time. Part of the reason is that I decided to quit worrying. I just decided that I’m going to quit worrying. I don’t know how it happened this month. I’m usually a worry-wart and stress monkey. Something snapped inside of me this month and I just decided that I wasn’t going to worry.

I wish I could bottle it up and give it to you for Christmas. I wish I could give you a bulleted list on how I achieved this strange, holiday nirvana. The list would have just one thing on it:

• Stop it!

Stop worrying. Giving the perfect present is nice, but it’s near impossible. Instead, concentrate on finding something that says, “I love you.” Think about the best aspects of the person you’re buying for and choose something that matches. If it’s not a good gift, that’s ok. You are trying your best and the most important thing to know is that you love them.

Stop worrying. Getting a present is nice, but most of the time, our families have a hard time getting it exactly right. It doesn’t matter. They are just trying their best to tell you they love you. Even if they give you a needling present that might subconsciously tell you that you’re not good enough, remember that they are just trying to tell you that they love you. They want to help you and picking gifts is hard. They thought about you and they didn’t leave you alone in the dark season. No matter how insulting the gift is (gym membership, haircut coupons, or maybe a book entitled, “How To Get A Man”), you can see right through the gift to the heart and soul of what they are trying to tell you. They love you, can’t you see it?

Stop worrying. If you get the cards out, great! If you don’t, it doesn’t matter. People will hear about you next year. Maybe you’ll even find out who really cares enough about you to send you Christmas cards instead of those guilt cards that get sent out after yours arrive. If you get the lights up, great! If you don’t, enjoy the lights on the houses around town. That’s what they are there for. There can be no show without an audience. This year, you get to be the audience. If you bake enough cookies for all the neighborhood, great! If you don’t, remember them with a small gift for the home like a emergency flashlight or a handy multi-tool. It’s not the homemade cookies that makes them feel appreciated. It’s the fact that you remembered their names.

The song that plays on the overhead PA is telling you exactly what you need to hear. Give yourself peace on earth, peace in your home and peace in your heart. You deserve it.

Mike and I had planned a hike in Little Cottonwood Canyon last March. We were having an unseasonable warm spell and we looked forward to playing in the mountains. That morning, we woke up to a blanket of snow. Instead of hiding in the house, we went up to the mountains anyway. Bundled up for warmth, we spent the hike clicking pictures and slushing through the moist snow.

Carl Reiner is right. Most of the time snow is just an unnecessary freezing of water, but that day, I was happy to shiver in it.