The Mom Crowd

Amanda gave some good tips on guarding your joy this season.  My number one joy stealer during the Christmas season is family overload.  Like many people, I have “one of those families.”  If they made a movie about my beloved family, I don’t think it’d do very well because viewers would say it wasn’t believable enough and no one would be able to keep up with who’s who and what’s what!  Oh, the drama!  I love each and every member of my family very much, but I can only handle a few of them in small doses. The irony, though, is that my favorite thing about the holiday season is seeing my family and spending time playing board games and cards and eating some good food!  However, it doesn’t take long before the family drama and the family history makes these gatherings difficult for me.

This year, I am consciously determined to enjoy the time I spend with my family.  I am ashamed that I sometimes don’t look forward to spending time with my extended family and I am going to try very hard to be aware of my bad attitude and be excited to spend time with them.  I think I have longed for “what could be” in my family relationships, instead of making “what is” better and enhanced.  When you are constantly longing for something else in your family it makes their shortcomings obvious and it more difficult to appreciate the wonderful attributes of each of your family members.  I forget that I have a lot of power in how well my relationships are with my family.  Instead of hoping they will change or strengthen their relationship with me,  I am going to take the lead and strengthen the relationships I have with my family members as much as I can.  I challenge you to make the same committment this year!

Do you have a hard time enjoying your family during your visits?  How do you avoid family overload?  How do you deal with the family members that you just do not “click” with?