Four Students Thinking of Christmas – A Short Short Story
Chapter One
The four women were studying for a nursing exam at Starbucks but their minds were all on Christmas.
The End
Drawing and story © 2015 Marty Coleman
The Glorious Mess – Christmas Truth #3
So don’t clean it up too soon!
Missed It
I’ve missed the crazy messy Christmas mornings that happen when kids are young. Luckily this year we have our 2 grandkids coming for the first time so we will have a very messy Christmas. And I can’t wait!
Here’s wishing you a very Messy Merry Marty Christmas!
Drawing © 2015 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Andy Rooney, 1919 – 2011, American Radio and Television writer
The Tinsel Tangle – Christmas Truths #2
More Stress
There really is barely any other time of the year that can engender such high levels of stress among parents and families as Christmas. Why is that? It’s the same reason stress rears its ugly head at any other time, expectations of perfection. The tree needs to be perfect, the food, the presents, the living arrangements, the activities, the conversation, the travel plans, and more. The perceived need for perfection is the recipe for stress.
Less Stress
Then why do certain families not have the same level of stress as others at Christmas time? It certainly isn’t that they decorate less or plan less or do less. It’s because they have all those activities in their proper place, as secondary to love. Loving their family and friends is what drives them, not presenting perfection to them.
What is most important
That doesn’t mean you aren’t showing love by making a beautiful Christmas experience for them. Working hard to make it all be fantastic is great. What isn’t great is thinking that if everything isn’t perfect you have failed. Because failure comes from your family walking away from Christmas feeling stressed themselves. Success comes from them feeling loved.
Focus on that and you won’t let Christmas get your tinsel in a tangle.
Drawing and commentary © 2015 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote was contributed by @Lornaknits on Periscope for our monthly drawing giveaway. The Best Christmas Quote was this month and this one got the most votes. Congrats Lorna!
Loving Jesus – Christmas Truths #1
Their Truth
There are those who don’t pay any attention to Jesus during the year but certainly love being able to indulge in Christmas because of Jesus’ birth.
Their Truth
There are those who think celebrating a birthday, any birthday, is not to be done. They pay attention to Jesus but ignore Christmas as a Holy day from God.
Their Truth
There are those who do both. They are followers of Jesus in one form or another and they also celebrate Christmas. The like Christmas but they would follow Jesus whether Christmas came around each year or not.
Your Truth
Which truth do you live with? Or is there another truth you follow?
Drawing and commentary © 2015 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Melanie White
The Comfort of Friends – Friendship #1
That Friend Feeling
I used to think I didn’t have many friends. I used to think I was sort of like the typical male, a lone wolf sort that had friends here and there but no close friends. At least not like many of the women I know.
But then I thought back and I couldn’t remember a time when I didn’t have them. They weren’t always of the same intensity of feeling, and they weren’t always of the same frequency of interaction, but I have always had them nonetheless.
I tried to make a list of my friends over the years and realized I couldn’t always remember their names. But, I could always see their faces in my head and, more importantly, I could always remember the feeling I had being with them.
Church Friends vs Work Friends
Long ago I lived in California. I worked at a restaurant (among other places) and I went to church. I moved away and a year later came back to visit. I visited both my old workplace and my old church. It was nice seeing my church friends. But when I went to the restaurant I was REALLY excited to see my work friends. Why was that? The people at church were great. We had raised our kids together. We had done a lot of things, had a lot of conversations, been through a lot. Prayed a lot. So why was I so much more excited to see my work friends than my church friends?
The Comfort Spot
It came down to comfort. At work I was completely and utterly who I was, good and bad. My funniest, most serious, most stressed, most helpful, most sober, most drunk, most angry, most peaceful, most happy, most sad, most moral, most immoral, most ethical, most unethical, most creative, most boring. All of me was on display at that restaurant but only part of me was on display at that church.
And my work friends? They were the same. They showed every part of themselves to me. So, when I came back a year later, I yearned for that comfort of seeing those who knew me so well and still loved me. The church friends knew the best of me and love me. But the work friends knew all of me and loved me.
They were my comfort spot. They were my cushions of life.
Who are your cushions and where can they be found?
Drawing and commentary © 2015 Marty Coleman
Quote by Kimberley Blaine – Therapist, writer, blogger, brand ambassador
Kimberley (left) and her sister, Jammie
Kimberley is a friend of mine from the world of blogging and social media. She wrote the words above in a blog post many month ago and I loved it so much I stole them (sorry Kimberley!)
She is well worth following because of her incredible honesty and insight into what it takes to be a mom, a spouse, a woman, a professional and yes, a friend.
You can find her everywhere but here are a few platforms that you should take a look at:
Website – The Go-To Mom
FaceBook – Kimberley Blaine
YouTube – The Go-To Mom
Amazon – The Go-To Mom’s Parents’ Guide to Emotion Coaching Young Children
The Napkin Dad