The Heart of the Holidays: Celebrate, Remember, and Embrace the Moment. This is the season to gather with friends and family, to rejoice, give thanks, and embrace the true spirit of the holidays. For some, it’s also a time of reflection, a moment to remember loved ones who are no longer with us. Time has a way of changing our lives, but it also teaches us to cherish what we have right now. Holiday celebrations may look different as the years go by. Traditions evolve, faces around the table change, and places we gather shift. Yet, one thing remains constant: our ability to be grateful. Grateful for what we have now, for the love and laughter we’ve experienced, and for the possibilities that lie ahead. This season, take time to tell the stories of those who came before us—the quirky grandparents, the unforgettable family moments—and let laughter fill the room. Treasure the sound of children’s giggles and the warmth of being together. These are the moments that become cherished memories, the ones we’ll reflect on with joy in years to come. Choose to celebrate the good in your life. Carry the holiday spirit with you—not just this week, but every week. These small, joyful moments are the building blocks of a well-lived life. Let’s make them count. Something to Think About: It’s easy to take life for granted when all is well. To think that there will always be a next year or a next time. Sometimes, this is the only time you will have to create a new memory with someone and for someone. Weekly Activity: Not everyone has someone to spend the holidays with. Is there someone in your life who would treasure an invitation from you or someone who would love to get a letter or card in the mail? Tis the season for giving. Words of Wisdom: "Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude, the more likely you will have even more to be grateful for." - Zig Ziglar "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more." - Melody Beattie

Successful People Do Small Things in a Great Way! Many success stories begin with great failure, followed by incredible persistence and winning against all odds. There are so many great success stories, but one of my favorites is the story of Helen Keller and her persistent teacher Anne Sullivan. Helen wasn't born deaf and blind but came down with a mysterious illness when she was 18 months old in 1882. It left her without sight and sound at a crucial stage of development. After years of struggle, her parents were able to find Anne Sullivan. By this time, Helen was extremely moody and difficult to teach. However, Anne steadfastly tried to teach Helen sign language by pressing the symbols into Helen's palm. In a famous “eureka” moment, Anne was finally able to make Helen connect the letters W-A-T-E-R being written in one palm with the water from a pump being poured on the other. From there, Helen began a lifelong journey to interact with the world around her. For 25 years, she worked to improve her speech so others could understand her. She graduated cum laude from Radcliffe in 1904 at 24 and wrote her first book, The Story of My Life. I like this story because it’s about the success and persistence of two people. Without Anne, there would be no success story about Helen. Something to Think About: I have noticed that, in most cases, it takes two people to create a great success story. The person struggling and the person who acts as a support person. It might be a coach, family member, friend, and someone who wants to make a difference in the life of another. If you are not where you want to be in life, who can help you get there? Weekly Activity: Who can you help this week? Who can you encourage? Heroes are not always created in books and movies; they are ordinary people who made a huge difference in the life of another because they cared. THEN, they are written about in books! Words of Wisdom: Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted with something and that this thing must be attained. - Marie Curie

We made it to Day 30, so let’s go out on a lighter note: No to leftovers. Yes, the food if you want… but honestly, I’m talking about everything else we keep reheating out of habit. Old expectations. Old roles. Old patterns that don’t fit who we are anymore- but we keep them around because they’re “easy” or “familiar.” This month taught me that leftovers get heavy. And most of the time, we’re carrying things that expired a long time ago. So here’s where I’m landing: If it doesn’t feel fresh, aligned, or meant for the version of me I’m becoming…I’m not packing it up and taking it into the next chapter. Some things are better left on the counter and walked away from.🫶

There’s a version of life you get used to when you’ve been running on autopilot for too long. You wake up, do the work, meet the expectations, juggle the responsibilities… and somewhere along the way, you stop feeling like a participant in your own life. You’re just maintaining it. I didn’t realize how long I’d been in that mode until I stepped out of my role. When the noise finally cleared, I could hear the truth I’d been avoiding: I wasn’t choosing my days-I was repeating them. Breaking that pattern isn’t dramatic. It’s small, conscious shifts. It’s asking yourself what you actually want instead of what you’ve always done. It’s noticing the moment you go numb and choosing not to stay there. This week, I interrupted the routine on purpose. I paid attention. And for the first time in a long time, life didn’t feel like something happening to me... it felt like something I was actively creating.

There’s a quiet cost to saying yes when you don’t mean it. You avoid the conflict in the moment… and then you end up carrying all the weight later. The extra task. The extra resentment. The extra pressure to be the “easy one.” I’ve done that more times than I can count...agreed just to keep things smooth, even when the yes felt heavy the second it left my mouth. But here’s what I’m learning: Avoiding conflict isn’t the same as creating peace. Most of the time, it’s just postponing your own burnout. So this week I chose honesty over comfort. A clean no. No explanation. No overthinking. And the world didn’t fall apart. It just got a lot quieter inside my head.