Christmas is an incredible time.  Here's what made mine so fantastic.

Presents.  (Doesn't that sound aweful?!)  Presents from my husband.  Presents from my husband that told me that he does understand me, or at least if he doesn't understand exactly, he is encouraging of me.

He bought me work-out clothes and some free weights, and also a yoga mat.  You might know that I have been trying to exercise regularly.  I was under the impression that my husband thought I was wasting time, my time and family time.  He never seemed to want to talk about it if I brought it up.  He tended to roll his eyes at me if he walked in while I was doing an aerobics tape.  I had just assumed he rather I not even try.

But then, gifts.  Gifts that let me know, not in words, but in a hotter commodity for that man: Money, that he recognizes what I'm doing, that he thinks I could use these particular items toward achieving my goal.

I love that man!  I'm really thrilled when he reminds me.

Energy makes no sense to me. The more you have, the more you use, the more you get. I say that because today, I had planned on doing 45 minutes of exercise. I did that yesterday, and I just felt great today. So I started for 45, and then during the cool-down I though, hey, I could go an hour. And I did. It’s so exciting to me because I am desperately trying to get healthy, since the last several years weren’t so good to me, and I wasn’t so good to me either. To imagine I could do aerobics for an hour—it’s incredible. I hope that doesn’t mean that once I’m in shape, I’ll have to exercise an hour everyday to stay in shape. But today, it sure felt good.

What can you do that amazes yourself?

I find it to be so easy to be "filled with the holiday Spirit" this week. I’m really looking forward to all of our family traditions on Christmas day, the cooking and family visits, the opening gifts and Mass the night before… Today I almost cried as I left Mass, just thinking of how blessed I am, to have such a wonderful family, to be able to have so much fun in my daily routine. I am just so excited about next week!!

Now if only I can keep the Spirit of Christmas with me throughout the year, how much more rich would my life be?!

I finally have my Christmas tree up! I think it looks better than ever. However, I had bought some pretty garland, but found I needed two strings. The one strand I had would not be enough. Since I am an impatient woman, I went ahead and decorated my tree without the garland. And then this afternoon, my friend dropped by with the second strand I needed. I had been on the phone with her when I discovered one was not enough. She happened by Walmart and did me a favor. Had I just been patient and waited (although I did not realize she would be so kind as to bring me the second string today) I would now have the beautiful garland on my tree.

I hope Santa brings me a little more patients for Christmas. How successful do you think I could be at putting the garland on after everything else is on? I even have the tinsel up.

Meditation is a relatively new practice for me, although I’ve been trying it on and off for years. I’ve also been careful to pray at night before I go to sleep, and occasionally ask for a solution to a particular problem to be revealed in a dream.

This morning, as I woke up slowly (children slept in?!), I recalled a dream which I believe I had early in the night. It showed me exactly how to work this bit of clay I’ve been dealing with entirely too long now. I haven’t been able to mold it just right for the effect I want. But now I’ve had a new approach shown to me, and this afternoon I shall attempt it! I’m so excited!

I think this is the first time it’s happened that my specific question was revealed in a dream, and then I remembered the dream. I credit meditation for this! My slow-waking state was similar to my meditation practice, and thus the dream came back to me.

I really feel like I’m on my way, a happy success to build on.

Do you find answers directly given in your dreams? Do you come out of meditation with specific solutions? Do you meditate more for peace and calm in your head? I think that could be two sides of the same coin. Have peace (a Grace from God!!), and answers to your problems are more readily available.

For the most part, I am even-keel. Bad traffic doesn’t bother me. Idiot drivers who need to go 90 in a 45 and have singled me out as the reason they cannot; ‘doesn’t bother me. Rude people in stores-- you get the picture. I stay even-tempered, even nice.

So how is it I go off the deep end regarding the people I love the most, my family? Particularly the children! They know exactly where my buttons are. The battle I just fought, and of course we all lost, happens nearly EVERY TIME I try to exercise at home. I let them know that I will be using the tv and living room for my workout. I mention several things they could do for that short half-hour. They seem to understand. But the toddlers inevitably wander in, which is fine, and more-or-less stay out of my way, which is fine too. But then one sets up a train in my path. One takes my free-weights for a walk, one rolls herself pig-in-a-blanket fashion in my yoga mat. NO!! QUIT IT!!! GET OUT OF THIS ROOM!!! GIVE THAT BACK!!! STAY OUT OF MY WAY!! It’s impossible.

The obvious solution is to recognize they will grow out of this stage, and for now I should exercise at a different time, say, when one naps and the other’s in class. I just don’t want to give up my Me time for something as unappealing as exercise.

What’s your exercise schedule? How have you avoided this problem or similar ones? Are you a yeller, or are you better able to control yourself in the heat of the moment? Somehow I always manage to forget to call on the Peace of God when I reach the boiling point.