Feeling Nostalgic - Christmas Edition



Now you know Paco's real name.



I don't know what's gotten into me lately but I am feeling nostalgic. Perhaps it’s the holiday season. Or the Christmas music blaring in grocery stores. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m getting older and am more aware of my surroundings. Or maybe I’m just being a nutcase. But I am feeling, smelling, and observing everything “Christmas-y” around me. It happened overnight and now I am trying to squeeze every possible second out of this month. I find myself glancing at the Christmas countdown calendar as often as a 10 year old would.

The other night Paco and I hung up a floating mantle shelf in our living room and as he attached our Christmas stockings to the hooks, I said that we should purchase better stockings next year rather than continue to use the little DIY Target fabric ones we have. Paco nonchalantly made a comment about them being our first stockings and I instantly felt a pang in my heart. I never want to retire them now because they are our first stockings. See, nostalgic.

It’s been since that night that I can’t shake this sentimental feeling.

I stared at those stockings for a long time trying to remember the night we created them and all I could come up with was a vague outline of that night. I was probably distracted with 10 other thoughts, stressed about last minute gift ideas or the load of laundry I should be tending to rather than playing with glitter pens and stockings.

As I was trying to pull that memory from the back of my mind, I told myself that this year I was going to make a serious attempt to be mentally and physically present from now until Christmas. So often it’s easier to just go through the motions of Christmas instead of really enjoying them. It’s common to get lost in the hustle and bustle and obligations during this time of year that we forgot to sit down and really enjoy the season. You’re probably making memories and not even realizing it. Like me, with those stockings.

Who would have thought 4 little stockings could be so eye opening?