A reminder of the season.

This time of year, I inevitably feel stressed out: work is ridiculously hectic, I have a mile-long To Do list, and too many places to go and people to see. I am constantly running from one place to another, and have no feeling of "holiday joy." Truthfully, I feel like I am *thisclose* to dropping six balls at once, at any given moment. 

Last night, C came home from school with a letter marked 4th notice. "Fourth notice?! I sent this form back to school in October. And we never received a second, or third notice!" I spit out through clenched teeth. Then I listened to my voicemail, only to hear my dentist's assistant say that I had two cavities that needed to be filled. She had a slot open at 2 PM the next day, or 10:30 the following Tuesday...neither of which worked, thanks to a business trip and meetings. 

I looked around our messy kitchen, where we were trying to figure out what to make for dinner (and coming up clueless), and my head started pounding, and my blood pressure went up about 300%. 

And I.Just.Shut.Down. I didn't start shouting, or crying; just closed in on myself. My husband thankfully took over and made C something to eat (cereal, for the record), and helped her get ready for bed. I kissed her sweet face goodnight, and then got myself ready for bed, because let's face it: the day just needed to be over. I woke up to catch an early flight to Baltimore (my last business trip of the year - yippee!), and as I was driving to Logan at 5:30 this morning, cursing the rain and sleet mix that was falling, it occurred to me that I should really just be thankful.

Thankful that my dentist is catching what are likely tiny cavities early on, and that my family has dental insurance.

Thankful that I have an amazing job, with coworkers and a manager that I adore, and that I have a flexible enough schedule that I can likely carve out some time next week to go get the fillings addressed.

Thankful that my endlessly supportive husband also has a good job, and that he is an involved partner and parent. 

Thankful that we have plenty of healthy food to eat. 

Thankful for the fact that we have a house, in a great neighborhood, with great schools that care enough to send four notices home.

Thankful for my beautiful little girl, who made me a card that said, "I hope you feel better tomorrow, Mommy."

Thankful for the fact that I have wonderful parents and sisters and in-laws, and that we will get to see them all over the course of the next few weeks.

And as I sit here on the plane this morning, writing this post with tears in my eyes, I remember that THIS is what the holiday season is all about. 

Whatever holiday you celebrate, whatever hardships you might be facing, I hope you will take a moment to just breathe, and appreciate all the good things about your life. Because there ARE plenty of good things, I promise you. 

Merry Christmas, everyone.