Walking in my Christmas flip flops...

Change always comes bearing gifts. -Price Pritchett

It was a picture perfect Sunday.  We had just finished up with church,  it was about 80 degrees, the sun was shining, our flip flops were on and here we are, buying a Christmas tree.  I must say that this was a drastic change from the many years in Minnesota where the girls and I would yell to Mike from the car, "Just pick one, we are cold!"



"Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters"

I recall when we were de-cluttering our lives last summer before the big move we looked at our tree stand and said, "Sell it, we won't be using that in Florida.  We will have to get a fake tree."  Little did we know that no matter where you go, you can always get the real deal.  We were ecstatic when we found out that people got real trees in Florida (well some, not all).  Sure, we have heard the various pooh-poohs about how dry they get down here but really, it is not any different in Minnesota.  So, with a skip in our step and the glow of the season in our hearts, we found the perfect tree.  It was so nice to not be shivering, to take the time to really look at each tree and decide on "the one." 

The traditions that we had in Minnesota have not changed that much since being down here.  The only thing that really seems different is the weather and we are not complaining at all.  We actually went down to a park the other night in St. Pete and they had real snow.  Of course it did not last very long but it was still fun see and feel.

I think the most noticeable change will be that we are not around our families this year.  I know that the girls are a bit sad about this but it makes them feel good to know that the week before Christmas they get to see their aunt and that Mike's family will be down here in January. 

We are fortunate to have a wonderful church community to celebrate with throughout this advent season.  It is fun to hear about others experiences with their first "Florida Christmas."

When I think about the holidays I think about a lot of joy but I also know that for many there is sadness.  Possibly loved ones have passed away or like us, are simply somewhere else.  I tend to think that we put too much pressure on this time of year to be "perfect."

Mike and I have put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make these days extra special for the girls as well.  It is hard not to feel some guilt at the fact that we have moved so far away from everything that the girls have ever known.  Overall they have done great but we knew that Christmas would be the biggest holiday that we might actually feel some of that shared sadness that many do at this time of year.

So we have ventured to a few local Christmas festivals but none of it has really captured the spirit for us.  Then we got to thinking, we never really went to any big festivals in Minnesota, we created our own memories.  Our new memories are ones of walking on the beach on a warm December afternoon, laughing quietly as we know folks back home are shoveling snow!

It reminds me of a hot yoga class I was in a few years back.  The experience that I had at this hot yoga class has helped me shape my own person practice and my teaching style as well as how I look at change.  I recall coming into the ungodly hot studio and seeing all these fit people, men and women, barely dressed.  One man actually had on what looked like a Speedo - JUST a Speedo.  It was hard not to feel intimidated by these buff bodies even when I knew for fact that I was quite strong and fit myself.  I felt like I was in high school and it was more about appearance than the practice.  Not only did I find the same 26 poses predictable and boring but I could not take my mind off the fact that this just did not feel like yoga to me.  It did not feel quite right.  I felt like I was forcing myself to do something I just did not like.  So, I survived the physical but more so the mental hot yoga practice and slammed the door on that one.  I myself do not care for hot yoga but for others it fulfills their practice. What this class did do for me was make me realize what type of yoga practice I do like.  Sometimes we have to experience things we do not like to realize what we really do value. 

So this experience brings to light our current experiences with trying to fulfill expectations that really are not possible.  The Christmas of Florida will of course be different from the Christmas of Minnesota.  But, we can take what we do like and make it into something new that we like even more.  We still have our real tree, the lovely smell of pine in the air.  We can still make all the lovely cookies and food fixings that warm our bellies and give us that temporary sugar euphoria.  We can still open gifts on Christmas morning and see the delight in our girl's eyes.  Instead of being inside by the fire we can put on our flip flops and head down to the beach and warm our bodies with the golden glow of the amazing sun.  We can spend time together and no matter where we are, we are one family.

As we celebrate the anticipation of the season, may we delight in the possibility of new possibilities.  May love, joy, even sadness at times, shape our hearts to being more open to the greater possibilities that are ahead.

Namaste.