​Every year I make name card holders for the grandchildren’s Christmas table. It makes dinner special as they find their assigned seat and giggle over what is holding their name.
 
A few years ago, I had a grand idea of using snowman ball ornaments on top of three candy canes and the loop of the candy cane would hold the name card. My grandson, Riley, is always so excited about holiday decorations, so I asked him if he would like to help me make them. 
 
After a visit to Hobby Lobby in search of small candy canes, scouring the lights and decorations, and a stop for lunch, we went home to create!
 
We found the photo on the Internet of a similar idea and started unwrapping candy canes. I thought it would be awesome. Riley was skeptical.
 
It didn’t take long to realize that Elmer’s glue on candy canes creates something like peppermint slime. Who knew candy canes and glue don’t mix! My mind quickly began thinking of what I had in the house to improvise and save this disaster. What will look like a snowman? What will not melt with glue? What will make me look a little less like a loser in the eyes of my grandson?

Well, when all else fails, bring out the marshmallows! Big, GIANT marshmallows! I thought it would be awesome! Riley, who by now had eaten enough candy canes to have rosy cheeks and watery eyes from a little too much peppermint, was still skeptical. 
 
By the end of the afternoon, we had used toothpicks and glue to attach the bodies, stood them on a base of red and green felt, given them ribbon scarves, and added buttons. It wasn’t until I broke a toothpick in half and pushed arms in the first little puffy man that I saw Riley smile. 
“Now, that is CUTE!” he said.
We had snowmen! 
​
Once again, I had received a lesson in acceptance. My idea of the perfect card holder failed. It took a little flexibility to improvise a new concept. They were not perfect. But by the time Christmas dinner was ready the marshmallows were hard as stone. The snowmen stood strong with the name tags sitting in front of their fat bellies. My grandchildren laughed and compared who had the funniest snowman.
 
Since then, I have made gnomes out of old makeup containers, painted pinecones, and this year will be small shiny red and green bells that will be shaken and rang to the point of irritation to all the adults. What I have learned is to be flexible. Flexible with my expectations. Flexible with my creativity. And Flexible with the outcome. Peppermint slime and marshmallow snowmen taught me a huge lesson. Card holders, like the entire holiday, don’t have to be perfect. If there is laughter, if there is joy, and if there is love, there is success. 
 Pennie's Life Lesson:
                         Holidays don’t have to be perfect. 
                 Flexibility in the process may turn out to be the best part of all. ​

YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 PennieHunt@gmail.com. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
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"Relax and allow the process of life to occur." 

When I said that to a friend of mine, I felt the intensity of her response ripple up her back forcing her to stretch upright and lean forward.

"Relax and allow life to occur? What about work, my kids, my husband? We have basketball games on the weekends, ballet practice after school, I volunteer on Wednesday night, my husband is out of town for work this week, and my in-laws arrive for a visit this Sunday. I have gifts to buy and wrap, cookies to bake, and my tree isn’t even decorated. Relax? The next thing you are going to tell me is to sit with my legs crossed and just be. Are you crazy?"

I could see she was desperately trying to control the pace and rhythm of her busy life. By doing this the scope of her world was overwhelming her.

I know the symptoms of overwhelm because I see them often and I have felt them many times. The symptoms are typically similar - the tired, drawn look with heavy under-eye circles from skimping on sleep; the extra 10, ok, 15 lbs that are always trying to be lost, yet increase due to eating on the run; the endless checking of emails, texts, and phone calls; the continual list-making of tasks and responsibilities required to get through the day and the week; and the quick defensiveness of why all of it is necessary and important. This causes life to be crazy and out of control. 

Sitting with legs crossed is not necessarily the answer, although the “just being” part is close.

This continual out-of-breath pace that life forces us to run is counter to what we are meant to do. When we are out of breath, we cannot allow life to occur, let alone relax to a place of enjoyment.

Breathing is important, but remember the only breath that is significant is this one; the one we are taking right now. The last one is over and the next one has yet to fill our lungs. And it won't unless we successfully inhale and exhale the current one. You see, you can't take more than one breath at a time and the only important one is the one you are breathing right now.

If you use this concept in life you will learn to slow down and experience one event at a time. View each event and experience as a breath. Just as you will begin to focus on the breath you are taking, you will also begin to concentrate on the event you are experiencing. . . not the ones on your list for tomorrow or the responsibilities you have to others. It is this breath right now, this experience right now that is important.

Life will unfold. Maybe not in the vision of perfection that you hope, but it doesn’t have to be. You may be surprised to find that you CAN relax and allow life to occur.
 
Pennie's Life Lesson:
                      "When you focus on the moment you are in, 
                               you can relax and allow life to occur."​

YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 PennieHunt@gmail.com. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
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Today I donated my old Christmas tree.  For three years I have wanted a new tree. I had become annoyed with the amount of glitter and white artificial snow that fell from it. I would find it all over the house well past Valentine’s Day. I had become frustrated that I could never fit it back into the tree box the way it came out. The days that I put it up or took it down became days of dread that left me looking and feeling like a glitter-covered wrestler that had lost the match. For three years when the stores clearanced all holiday items after Christmas, I looked for a new tree. One that was easy to assemble. One without glitter or snow. One that I felt was beautiful enough to take over the role of center-of-attention for my holiday season. For three years I failed.
​
This year I didn’t wait for a clearance sale. This year I began searching the ads right after Halloween. I visited stores. I took photos of trees I thought I would like. I studied assembly options, light lumens, and branch counts.  Then I found her. The perfect 7’ 6”, 800 light, 4,335 branched tipped queen of my future holidays.
She sits in my living room all aglow displaying shiny blue ornaments and family memories. The decorations sparkle enough that I do not miss the glittered snow branches of my old tree. I am in love with her.  

I saw photos of her that first year where she reigned like a queen surrounded by beautiful packages and shiny ribbon. I saw photos of her with new babies and toddlers laying under her in awe of the magic held in sparkly lights and holiday secrets.  

YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 PennieHunt@gmail.com. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information. ​

You planned for a year. You sent out invitations, ordered a cake and said “Yes” to the dress. The day comes and it is spectacular.  It is the fairy tale wedding of the year. Even the honeymoon was perfect. And then, you came home to a new life with a partner and Now What? Now, things like laundry, negotiating finances, and toothpaste in the sink become reality and you are not adapting well.
You didn’t plan past the wedding cake. 

You brought home one or two, maybe more, sweet-smelling bundles from the hospital. You bathed them, fed them, and nurtured them through talking, taking their first step and all the steps after that right until they walked across the stage- cap and gown on, tassel dangling and your pride beaming. You help them pack their car, you make sandwiches for the road, and tuck cash in their hand. The door closes on your child as they drive off to a new life leaving you in an empty nest and Now What? Your purpose has just driven away and what will you do now?
You didn’t plan past parenting. 

The turkey is bought, or jellybean baskets are filled, or the tree is up, and presents are wrapped- whichever holiday it is, you have prepared for the fun, food, and family. The house is filled with laughter and joy. The day after comes and Now What? The house is quiet and empty. Your heart sinks from sudden loneliness. Your festive holiday adrenaline is drained and has puddled on the floor.
You didn’t plan past the holiday. 

The dreaded school reunion is 6 months away, so you work out, diet, lose those 30 pounds, and fit into that little black dress. The day after comes and Now What?  You sleep in because working out is overrated, a cheeseburger and fries sound good for lunch- after all you haven’t had them in 6 months and so it goes. Soon the little black dress is tucked in the back of your closet with the other too small clothes.
You didn’t plan past the reunion. 

It happened.  Rehab. A little too much drinking, pills, gambling, or whatever your addictive vice is. You can do the 30-60-90 days. You do the counseling, the group sharing, the journaling, and inner work. The day comes when you finish. Your mind is clear, your body cleansed, and the world looks bright and possible again. And Now What? You return to the old life, the old friends, the old habits, and you are pulled further and further away from the protection of rehab and fall into the familiar arms of your vice.  
You didn’t plan past 30-60-90 days.

This is how we do life. We look at the gold ring. We reach for it. We get it. And then what? We don’t plan the next step. We don’t plan the next goal or the maintenance of our accomplishment. Without planning past we will suffer from the slow slide back into the darkness of depression, or relapse into old habits and routines. Planning past should become as much a part of your process as your steps to success.
Plan past the wedding cake – visualize and talk about how your shared life will be. 
Plan past parenting. Do not curl into a tight ball of depression disappearing into your empty nest. Look at it as a new adventure, time for YOU to fill this newfound space with the experiences YOU want to pursue. 

Plan past the holiday, so that after the presents are gone, the tree is put away and leftovers are eaten you have scheduled what is next on your calendar to fill the quiet. 

Plan past the reunion. Don’t lose weight for a specific moment in time. Get in shape for yourself, your health, your longevity. You will look and feel great for every event… not just one reunion. 

Plan past a program. The 30-60-90-day programs might work for the time you are there, but you need a life program. One that doesn’t end when you walk out of a facility. One that is engrained in your belief system 100%.... then it becomes YOUR program. Your way of life. Your success! 

Be proactive. Look at your life in long-term successes.  Short-term goals are great steppingstones, but to be successful in life you must not look at a goal as the finale. Always be prepared and have a vision for what comes next. Only then will you walk a life-path of achievement knowing that each successful step you take creates a trail of confidence behind you and a road of determination ahead of you. 

Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Don’t stop when you reach a goal. Plan past the achievement. Have a vision for what comes next.”  

YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 PennieHunt@gmail.com. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information. ​