A Holiday Checklist

(mist and ice on the tidal Habitant River, near Canning, NS)

I just missed out on being a solstice baby, and came a bit too early for Christmas too...but since today is my Blogger Bloom Day (so to speak), I thought I'd give a gift to others!

It probably won't surprise regular readers that some of my closest friends are other writers. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine from Montreal, Heather Grace Stewart, sent me this wonderful poem she had written. She gave me permission to post it here, and given that this can be a stressful season, I hope you'll all enjoy it and take it to heart (men can tell their inner Super Dads to leave the building, lest you feel neglected). Enjoy!

Holiday Checklist


This Christmas, I am telling
my inner Super Mom to
leave the building.

In the pre-Christmas chaos
I will remember to breathe
while juggling the buying
flying shopping shipping
put-it-on-plastic
happy hoopla
pot luck and good luck
trying to squeeze into
last year’s
little black dress.

Multi-tasking to the point
of burn out will no
longer be my middle name.

I will not apologize
or feel inferior
if the cards are late or
the presents aren’t perfectly
gift-wrapped or
the kids look like
baboons in the family photo.

This Christmas
I won’t trip over my words
when I start to say Merry Christmas
to someone celebrating Hannukah.
Screw political correctness, this year
I will remember what’s truly important:
opening a door for a senior
giving food and clothes to the homeless
teaching the children it’s not all
about that guy in the red suit.

This Christmas
I will put on John and Yoko’s
Happy Christmas (War Is Over)—
And listen.
No. Really, truly listen.

/Another year over
And what have I done?

And so happy Christmas,
for black and for white,
for the yellow and red ones,
Let’s stop all the fight. /


This Christmas
I will be still

between the turkey
and the silly paper hats
between the wine
and the goodnight kisses

I will find my true North star,
make a wish for the world and
count my blessings,
every one.



Heather Grace Stewart
copyright Dec. 2007
--
Heather Grace Stewart
Author; Photojournalist