Christmas time is here.

I scrolled through my Facebook feed this morning and saw wonderful images of friends and family and their Christmas celebrations. It was lovely.

In years past, these images spur the guilt I have of not having it all together, particularly given the proximity of the winter holidays with the end of the semester.

Of course, for my kids and my family, we exchange gifts and celebrate together, often with conversation and laughter.  Usually, I’ll go to a church candlelight service (as I did this year) and eat delicious food, texting friends and family with holiday greetings.  But, often this is tainted with a sense that I didn’t quite do enough, that I should have more adorable holiday traditions, that I should do or be more.

And in those feelings of inadequacy, I miss being present to the very best people and things in my life.

What I am appreciating most about this season this year is that I didn’t really push myself to get everything done and make it all perfect. My husband picked out gifts for his family (mostly off their Amazon wishlists). I didn’t get my family (of origin) anything (sorry, Family).  I had collected some small gifts for the kids throughout the year, but honestly, didn’t even wrap them. We didn’t host a dinner or attend many holiday parties.

And you know what? That was fine. In fact, it was liberating.

Instead, I spent most of today with my in-laws, my husband, toddler & teenager, and just relaxed. I ate delicious food, spent some time in nature, by the water, slept, and after this blog post, I’ll probably binge on some more junk television.

And that has made all the difference.