Life is Like a Dagwood Sandwich!

Sometimes, life is like a Dagwood Bumstead sandwich!  Lately, that's the way it has been around these parts.  Our days, evenings, minds and hearts have been filled to the brim contributing to a life that has many delicious, wonderful, busy layers!  It's been frenetic and hectic, but filled with joy that I could not even have imagined when "they" picked a date figuring they would "save" on decorations (lol)!

The holiday season is always a busy and stressful time, and teachers, along with everyone else, packs as much as we can into those "days" off.  We start making those lists of must-dos, should-dos, want-to-dos, hope-to-dos, and need-to-cleans long before we get "out" of school. We start with piles of gifts to wrap and follow that with stacks of returns and bargains that "need to be" gotten. We schedule visits, play dates, game nights, skating, movies, puzzles, and then stay up way late into the night, knowing that the alarm will not ring, working on that stack of books we want to read!  This year, we "sandwiched" a wedding between Christmas and New Year's Day!

In retrospect, focusing on the big picture, JOY, was the real gift this holiday. There was "environmentally friendly" wrapping paper (Amazon boxes), but there was no less JOY in giving. There was last minute altering of dresses, but there was great JOY in watching them swirl around the dance floor.  There was last minute tying of tags on pine cones, but there was intense JOY knowing that each one was tied with love. There was concern, worry and stress about what mother nature would send our way; yet, somehow she must have collaborated with the ghosts at the Hotel Bethlehem to provide us with the mildest weather imaginable!  She also collaborated with a host of guardian angles to assure the Feast of the Holy Family would be filled with the happiest celebration with the wildest dancing, sandwiched-between-the-holidays/ We were all reminded of what really matters in this life: finding joy, holding tight to family, embracing our faith, appreciating friends, and celebrating the miracle of love.  Like Dagwood has said for years, there is no JOY greater than a "full" plate. I'll take my plate filled with family, friends, faith, love, and JOY.

PS So glad I chose JOY as my OWL:)