Our snowman, or snow person, I should say, is missing an arm and hand...or, really, a piece of metal posing as one, and, so, we added a stick.

Last night, when we turned our outdoor Christmas lights on, only half worked.

We don't anymore, but we used to have two light-up reindeer we would set up in the front lawn, and one would ALWAYS fall over. Blame the wind, bad luck, or the fact that we bought Rudolph's cousin, Poodolph, from Walmart, but he never did stay upright or hold up.

Speaking of hold up...

I'm not sure I hold myself to high enough standards.

And how low mine are set is a clear indication of such.

An amputated snowman,

a one-side-only lit house,

an over-cluttered, over-childrened, dog hair-decorated, noisy as heck interior,

and within those walls,

a hot mess of a mama who, during the holidays, typically drapes myself in

grandiose expectations

and

matching anxiety that I won't be able to meet them.

All that being said,

over the past few pandemic-plagued years,

I've realized something...

that it doesn't take a ton of money or fancy crap to make a nice holiday.

It takes nice people.

Not fancy people.

And not nice or fancy homes,

but the lived-in and loved-well-inside-of kind.

The holidays aren't meant to be about

keeping up with the Joneses,

or

wondering why your holiday card doesn't look as nice as theirs.

Me and mine?

We didn't even take a Christmas picture this year.

And, honestly, I don't think I have a picture from the last two or three years that has all of us in it AND each of us looking at the camera.

AND THAT'S OKAY.

Wanna know why?

Because more often than not,

we're looking at each other.

We're connecting.

We're interacting.

We're helping each other grow.

And, usually,

that looks messy,

unkempt,.

and, gosh,

even unsightly or embarrassing.

And it ain’t always a look I'm seeking to capture with a photograph.

So, maybe you and yours are like me and mine --

not the most couth bunch on the block, but on the block, nonetheless, with no plans for changing or going anywhere.

So, relax.

Take a break.

Break free from the thought that you and yours are any less because you don't DO MORE or look more put-together.

You just keep putting on display your half-arsed Christmas decor and less than refined love for each other, and you do it loud and proud.

My family is pleased to announce that, from here on out, we're doing holidays [and all days] however we damn well please, and pleasing other people ain't on the schedule.