I’ll share a secret with you: Shhh! I’m a recovering perfectionist! Let me tell you, having five kids has probably been my biggest “cure”. I’ve always been the type that needed things done a certain way. House cleaning, projects, organization, and yes, even holidays. OK, ESPECIALLY holidays! Things had to be “just right”. The perfect meal, the perfect decorations, the perfect table settings. But you know what? I was getting to the place where I wasn’t even enjoying the holidays! I was missing the point! This year, we celebrated a little differently. I decided it was time to let go – letting go of perfection, that is! For starters, we didn’t even come close to having all the foods on a traditional Thanksgiving menu. We live on a remote island in the South Pacific where we are missionaries and we only get two ships a month bringing in supplies to the local stores. Usually there is a shipment just before Thanksgiving to cater to the Americans living on island who want to celebrate traditionally. This year though, no ship! We did find a turkey but that was about the extent of it (and not even going to tell you how much that sucker cost!). You know what? It didn’t matter! We still had a feast and were more than full enough! I didn’t worry about the perfect decorations or the perfect house either this year. I kicked back and relaxed with my family. I let the kids decorate AND help with the pies (still trying to recover from that one! LOL!). We ate, we played games, we colored (ha! We even had all the adults down on the floor with markers and turkey coloring sheets!), we watched holiday movies, we talked about our blessings and what we’re thankful for, and just had an all-around wonderful Thanksgiving! It was a Thanksgiving that will be well-remembered by me and my family! After all, who remembers all those “perfect” ones. Hope it was just as perfect a holiday for you as well! Happy Thanksgiving and God bless!
* I invite you to connect with me through this holiday season on my Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/CoachSueann, where I’ll be posting some of our family’s favorite holiday recipes and traditions along with health and fitness tips and info. Hope to see you there!