Tenaciously trying to tug tattered
traditions into my December –
there WILL be jangling jarring carols
on my CD player!
there WILL be cheesy Christmas movies!
And then it suddenly hits me –
my real life is so much better than these
ridiculous stories of make-believe!

I’m missing out on the Christmassy
magic going on right now, in this moment,
when I’m spending my energies
and focusing what I see
on what came before instead
of what’s right in front of me.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell