Letting Go

I'm sitting here looking at our beautiful Christmas tree with piles of presents underneath for our foster daughters. A little dusting of snow is visible outside the wall of windows behind our tree. A picture of perfection? Out of all those presents, I wrapped nine and my husband has wrapped the rest! I have to admit, I'm a bit overwhelmed this year and I'm so thankful for his help!

My husband is very creative and artistic and has done a lovely job on the presents. But they are not how I would have done them. He didn't notice that some bags have matching tissue paper. He didn't remember that some bags and boxes have traditionally been earmarked for our own daughters over the years. He put together combinations that I wouldn't necessarily have put together. Okay - breathe - let go!

But they are lovely! And he wrapped them! And he has relieved so much of my stress! And I'm thankful he wants to participate in making Christmas wonderful for our foster daughters! And again - breathe - let go!

I'm a bit obsessive about matching - can you tell? When we had a red and white living room a few years back, I only bought red and white wrapping paper, tissue, ribbons, and bags! When we were given gifts that were not in red and white, I put them in the back of the tree! And most of the tree decorations were red. I've already let go of that. Woohoo!

The point is - accept help during this season, even if it is not done how you would do it. Enjoy the process, even if your kids make a mess while decorating sugar cookies. Everything doesn't need to be perfect for it to be good.

I'm trying to let go of my perfectionist expectations. It doesn't always have to be done how I think it should be done. We now have people in our home from four backgrounds - Christmas needs to represent all of us. Okay - I'm going to be hyperventilating with all this breathing I need to do. And maybe twitching a little, too!

What have you let go?

More on perspective:
Priorities and Perspective from a Ninety-Year-Old
Savoring the Significance of the Season
5-Minute Stress Relievers - Spiritual Refocusing