Learn To Love Life

I keep having to remind myself that it’s almost the end of the semester. I am almost there. This hasn’t been the best semester for me, but I’m making my way through. There’s just a few weeks left. I’m not going to suddenly achieve perfection in these last few weeks or catch up on so many missed notes, but I can do my best. And next semester is a fresh start.

I’m also trying my best to get myself in the holiday spirit. I think it is always easier to get through something difficult if you have something to look forward to. Some Christmas lights, Christmas music, decoration, snow, etc. is just good for the soul.

Home cooked meals are also just so good for the soul. I’m heading home soon, and I just know that my mom and dad will both be making some of my favorite dishes. Not just that, but some good family time is much overdue and needed.

If you told 12 year old me that I would be missing my brother, I would have laughed right in your face. I saw him everyday and wished that I didn’t have to. Instead I was closer with my oldest sister. And then my other older sister. My brother was lowest on the list for me. He was always teasing me, making fun of me, punching me, etc. My mom likes to tell a story of when he did something to me around that age and I started to cry. She pointed out that I could just do it right back to him. I stopped crying and just did.

From there, we grew closer together, not purposefully. We wrestled and if he made fun of me, I did it back at him. After dinner, he used to not let me get to my room at the end of the hallway. We would wrestle and push each other until I finally made it through (or sometimes gave up). However, there were a few times that this resulted in paintings falling off the walls and the frames breaking. Or the night light in the outlet that was torn out, snapping the outlet cover in 4 pieces. Or the duct tape that went over the light switch so I couldn’t turn the light on and when I took it off, it tore some paint off. Well, those were the moments that we would look at each other, go quiet and find a way to fix it before mom and dad noticed. You’d be surprised what some tape and a glue stick can do.

Now, years later we like to tell my parents these stories just to rile them up. They can’t believe that we had broken so many things under their noses. The few things that they did notice took them at least 6 months to do so.

Now, here we are, adults and much closer. We talk to each other as much as we can. And despite some difficulties with all our siblings, we all are supportive, protective and loving of one another. I might still complain about them time to time, but they are my family and always will be.

So with the holidays coming up, I’m excited to spend time with them all. Undoubtedly, someone will get on my nerves, but that’s part of family. If my brother had never gotten on my nerves as a kid, we probably would not be as close as we are today.

Anyway, my point is that I am looking forward to the holidays and to the break so that I can just relax and reset.

Remember that you always deserve to rest. Resting is productive. I’ve really been focusing on that principle lately.

Live Love Life, Yvie