The woes of a 7-year old

Yesterday we met up with my uncle and cousin and her family so we could see my uncle before he goes back to California. We all had a lot of fun together.

For Christmas, some of our relatives gave us Table Topics, which is a box of cards with questions on them. We were looking through the cards and we came across this question:

What is the hardest thing you've ever done?

And here was the adorable 7-year-old's answer:

"Getting my brother to be quiet!"

Man, being 7 sounds so hard!  : )

A Voice

I just came across this very interesting quote:

"Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent."

Napoleon Bonaparte

It reminded me of the movie The King's Speech, which I love. 

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

So, I discovered something on Monday. I was driving to the grocery store, and it was raining, but then it turned into wonderful, glorious gentle snow. I suddenly started feeling very Christmasy. I was going to be buying some Christmas gifts, but I hadn't felt much of the spirit of Christmas for the day, even though I had been listening to Christmas music for most of it. But the rest of the day, after the snow had begun, I just felt so much joy. So snow brings me a lot of Christmas cheer.

I'm totally a fan of "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." And I can agree with that. However, give me some snow, and I will be in Christmas heaven. Snow brings the Christmas spirit to me. I knew I always loved a white Christmas, but I never realized how much I need it to help with my Christmas joy. No wonder last Christmas I didn't feel as full of Christmas spirit--there was very little snow.

I hope I have a white Christmas!

Generosity

I have a friend who is really generous. Well, actually, I have a few friends who are really generous, but right now I am thinking of one friend in particular. This friend is generous with time as well as with giving material things. I know I can always count on this friend to take the time to help me out. It's really great! My friend has also given me thoughtful gifts for holidays and birthdays. My friend always offers to share anything of his with me and anyone else. Happy birthday to my wonderful, generous friend!

I definitely have to say that generosity is a trait that I very much admire in people. I try to be generous, but sometimes I am a bit stingier than I think I should be. I think generosity is wonderful!

Emotional Time of Year

So, as many people know, I love Christmas—like, excited for Christmas by February love it. And around this time of year, I kind of get emotional. No, not sad emotional. Embarrassing emotional because everything is so wonderful.

I kind of might possibly cry a lot this time of year and also gush and also smile so big that I can't stop, and people probably wonder what my deal is. But rather than being too embarrassed, I'm going to embrace it this year! I've kind of been laughing at myself already and just enjoying the joy.

Some radio stations have already started playing Christmas music—some of them all the time and others just occasionally. I don't want to get burnt out, so I'm only listening to some of it for now, but I have no rules on Christmas music. I listen to it when I want to, at any time of the year. On Tuesday or Wednesday, I was driving to work, and Where Are You Christmas came on one of the country stations. I like that song, so I turned it up and started singing (loudly) along. It was so wonderful because it's beautiful and I love singing and it brings me memories of past Christmases that I got a little emotional, and then I just laughed at myself for the rest of the drive.

I also tend to hear more stories than usual about people serving and being kind around this time of year. These stories touch me. I'm kind of in love with THIS story right now. It's about a police officer in New York who bought a homeless man boots. Stories of love like this make me cry sometimes, whether it's December or June. And although it would be better if people were kind and service-oriented year-round, I don't think that being reminded of kindness and people serving more around this time of year is a bad thing.

So, obviously, I'm actually emotional year-round, but there are a lot more things that bring out my emotions this time of year. It's A Wonderful Life gets me every time, and it's one of my favorite Christmas movies. The reminders of Christ during this time of year touch me. And sometimes the combination of all of these things just make me so happy that I feel like I'm going to burst with joy. I don't know if anyone else gets this way, but I'm happy to be me. I'm happy that I am able to feel such joy.