The word of the day challenge word today is rejoice. That brings to mind my favorite Christmas hymn Oh, Emmanuel.

“Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee o Israel.”

Today and tomorrow are days for our family to be with each other and relax and rejoice in the presence of one other, share some food, play some games, and be stress-free. (at least that’s the plan)

We start tonight at my brother-in-law’s house where we will eat dinner and play the Chinese gift exchange. Those gifts are the only ones bought this year (except for the lady and her family I used to work for) and then tomorrow evening, we plan on taking the whole family to dinner and that is our Christmas this year. It feels weird, yet so much less stressful.

My brother suggested this for the last two years and this year I decided was the best year to do it. I think that the older I get, the more sense this makes, and this year has been so horrible, it has taught me that family truly is the only thing that matters.

However, I feel the guilt creeping in the closer to Christmas it gets. I realize its the pressure from the media and the fact that we’ve always bought each other presents for the family, but I will not cave. I can do this. I just hope everyone understands and doesn’t make me feel bad about my choice to relax and rejoice this year. I hope you all do the same!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!