Christmas Joy
Life isn’t always a smooth sailing ride; in fact, the ride
doesn’t come without emotional adventures. It’s been a year of highs and lows
for us for sure, celebrating many things admist some bittersweet moments. We spent
a short, fun weekend with my family skiing for the first time in Colorado. We
also celebrated the life of my father-n-law as he went home to Jesus, the
beginning of married life for 4 family members in 4 different states, the birth
of my best friend’s baby, our 8th year of marriage, and my Pee Paw’s
90th birthday. We have had a year of much personal and external stress.
The stress came in packages from working late hours and traveling at least 3 of
the 4 weekends each month. Traveling came with a high percentage of cancelled
and delayed flights sending us to a hotel overnight or turning our flight
around because we’re running out of gas, or deboarding several times. We learned
to laugh about the number of flight mishaps. Finding blessings and even adding some
humor often lessens the load on our emotional state.
Humor is almost always intertwined somewhere daily which
also reduces tension at some point. There were many times my husband’s blood
pressure boiled because he needed to get back due to a full patient load on his
schedule the following day. I almost had my head put on a platter due to a
prank I pulled on him recently in the airport. I’m typically the worst at
pranks and jokes, but this one...I have to admit, was pretty good.
A successful prank
We had a connecting flight in Dallas and got on a tram to
drop us off, just 2 stops (or terminals) down. After the 1st stop, the
intercom announced that we needed to get off and hop on another tram due to this
one being down. We were literally, just one stop away! We had to get on the
other tram which was going the opposite direction putting us on what felt like a
30-45 minute ride to our gate. I was trying to lighten the situation telling
him at least “it’s a beautiful sight” of the airport as I was humming the
Winter Wonderland song. Then we finally made our stop and he was already
several feet ahead of me as I hollered at him looking down at my phone, “Babe!
Our gate is back where we were at B!” His facial expression quickly turned from
relief to panic in seconds bolting back to the tram before the doors closed
with bags falling off his shoulders. I was laughing so hard and crying that I almost
didn’t yell out in time, “come back, I’m kidding!” He was seconds away from
getting trapped on another ride around the airport. I think he experienced a
roller coaster of 4 different emotions within 1 minute. I cried the entire way
to our gate with tears streaming down my nose and tried to ask “that was good
wasn’t it?” I know I probably tripled his stress in 2 seconds, but he did say he
will laugh about it later all while trying not to crack a giggle. Knowing my
luck, I would jinx our day…and sure enough, I did. Our flight was delayed
several times and it didn’t stop there. Upon landing at our destination, we
waited at least 15 minutes for a shuttle to pick us up for the parking lot.
Fifteen minutes isn’t long, but it feels like hours when you go from temps in the
70s to the single digits unprepared with light weight jackets and fingers and
legs stinging. As we were thawing, we got off the shuttle to find our car had
been frozen over, literally.
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| We may have had a LONG day, but how could you not laugh about this! Note to self: always use your keys, do not rely on your keypad to enter your car. |
My husband and I feel we have the worst luck with flying. The
situations are, no doubt, stressful for the average person, but then I sit back
and think about how some people may be missing a funeral, a wedding, or getting
home to see their family after months of deployment. A girl sitting next to us during
our last trip had been hopping around flights and airports for 36 hours just to
get home! In addition, I often think about how much pressure the pilots manage as
they make decisions and try to fly everyone to their destinations safely within
a time frame. It makes me wonder, how much or how many times do we allow stress
and circumstances in life to rob us of our joy?
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| We may be tired and/or frustrated when traveling, but somehow, we find the energy to add some humor or fun. |
Despite the losses, voids, or any circumstances in life, God
grants us many, many blessings. Some so simple we forget to open our eyes or
hearts. We forget we still have a purpose. We forget we are not the only ones
battling life and that we have support. Some of my richest blessings include
Christ, my husband, my family, and my friends. It’s not anything tangible nor
is it anything that can be replaced. Perhaps, that is why it’s so hard to let
our loved ones go when God calls them Home. I cherish each day, each moment with
each one. I choose to live one day at a time, to the fullest. We can choose to
live with or without Joy.
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| In the midst of running around the weekend of our niece's wedding in Virginia, we had to stop and take a moment to soak in God's beautiful painting. |
If you find yourself lost this Holiday season, be sure to
spot your Joy that may have slipped through the cracks. This may have been a
tough year for many. It has for us as shared in this series of personal posts. This
is also my husband’s first Christmas without his best friend, his father. However,
the bittersweet moment, is that his father was ready to see Jesus. How could we
ask him to fight a little longer on earth? Nevertheless, my husband and I are
quite content when we count our blessings. We’ve been blessed beyond measure
and so thankful that God extended time on earth for my father-n-law during his
cancer battles. I’m thankful that my husband and I have each other, and for each
day we have with our family and friends. There are times we often feel we do
not have enough time together so we squeeze in date nights or brief getaways to
refresh our joy. Our marriage isn’t perfect and we have our days, but what I
love about us is that we seek adventures, we make humor a part of our daily
life, and we live one day at a time walking in faith.
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| Squeezed in a little weekend in Chicago for the first time together, and had a BLAST! |
If I could give any tips or advice based on my 2016
experiences and series of personal posts, I would share the following:
1)
Ladies, know and check your boobs (guys should,
too)!
2)
Couples, take time out for each other whether
during the week, weekend, or simply take on small adventures together
3)
Stay active or exercise to fight and endure your
stress
4)
Enjoy EVERY blessing of life and count them
5)
Do not worry about tomorrow, live in the present
6)
Humor and laughter is a cheap medicine
7)
Walk in faith and live each day to the fullest
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| We ended 2016 with a bundle of fur joy. |
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and have a happy and
healthy New Year to all!
Quote of the day:
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
~ Abraham Lincoln
Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and
keep choosing it every day.
~ Henri J.M. Nouwen
Bible verse of the day:
This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
~ Psalm 118:24
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