Grown Up Christmas List

Growing up, I was that child who always loved Christmas.  Thanksgiving will always be my favorite holiday but Christmas is a close second.  I love the decorations, the music, and gathering with my family to celebrate this special time of year.  I would sneak down every morning before everyone else was up in my house and see what Santa brought.  I was literally too excited to sleep (maybe one day I'll grow out of that but let's be real- probs not) because I couldn't wait for the magic of Christmas morning.  As I grew older Santa got smarter and started wrapping the presents so I couldn't sneak downstairs to peak.  I loved watching people open presents I got excited shopping for.  As the years pass and I don't live 7 minutes away anymore, the answer to the question, "What do you want for Christmas?" has become really easy.  I want time with my family and friends.  I feel as though my time is limited whenever I'm home and I want to make the most of every second.

At my spin studio, we started a 25 days of Christmas challenge where my incredible boss emails us a daily challenge of something extra to do for the holidays.  A few days ago our daily challenge was an email with this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86qAkvaCgso) about giving presence. I love this video.  Too many times I've sat at a table with family or friends and everyone has their phone out.  Of course there's a time and place for that but enjoying the people around you is even better.  While I know our phones are vital for communication, my favorite memories are the ones where I don't have my phone out for anything but taking pictures.  While this entire post is not directly fitness related, it's extremely health related.  This past week I've had the opportunity to help take care of my recovering grandfather.  He has always been an advocate for spending quality time with people and for taking care of his health.  Only 12 days after his operation and he can't wait to get back to the gym to sweat it out.  I am so incredibly grateful that he has taken such good care of himself physically throughout the years.  It has been incredibly important to his speedy recovery.  I can't wait to play golf with him again.

Here's to your happy holidays! I hope that you take the challenge to #givepresence.