Wednesday January 11, 2012

Ms Murky Mondays:
Balancing Nostalgia with Reality

With the holidays solidly behind us now, I have had time to reflect on my own personal conflict leading up to and during the holidays.  I so want to recreate the Christmas of my past with those trays of cookies, memorable meals, festively decorated house and more.  So I push and push myself, feeling bad if I couldn't muster the energy to make 12 dozen sugar cookies.  Afterall my Mom and Nana could do it effortlessly.  And then, reality struck.  I work.  I am traveling to NYC 2 days a week for a client, I am launching my dream company....my world is different.  And that's just the way it is.  So I cut myself some slack and the joy of the season emerged.  It's about sharing, giving, being with people you love.  Not about how perfect you could make it seem.

So as I pedal the importance of nostalgia and honoring the traditions of our ancestors and our treasured family recipes, I do it to embrace the love that was shared, not the fiction of perfection that I or many of us may carry in our memory.  Sure, if you have the time, money and desire - go for it!!  But, if you are like many of us during these economic times, it's about creating the loving, nurturing environment that hugs the hearts and souls of all that we touch. It's not about the 12 dozen sugar cookies.  It's about the memory of them and how they made us feel.  

So, I was OK with making some memorable meals this season, sans sugar cookies. Funny thing, no one noticed I didn't make them.