The golden hour...

This time of year, leading up to Thanksgiving is my favorite.  The traditions, the giving, the anticipation of it all...its the golden hour of the whole year.

It can also be a stressful time of year.  The gifts, not just any gifts, but the "just right" gifts, the past-capacity calendar, the expectations....

All of those things can become good things though...in the right frame of mind.  I'm trying to be very conscious about that this year.  My plate is fuller than ever, by both choice and by circumstance.  The part of my plate which is full by choice, is a fullness that I am motivated and inspired by...and I am very grateful for.  The part full by circumstance is one that every one deals with in some fashion or another - this is just or challenge at the moment.  We will manage it and become stronger and better for it.  

Full plates are good in the sense that they squeeze out the unnecessary or unhealthy fillers - and I will need to be ok with letting those things slide off my plate.  I will still make time for the traditions closest to my heart - but being a control freak and making every dish at our Thanksgiving table, taking detailed notes on the Thanksgiving day schedule and menu...umm...no.  This blink-length season goes faster every year - so I will savor the hearty things that stay on my plate - the things that slide off - aren't meant to be there, for now at least.