I Am Not Stressed!!!

I I tried to find a different picture- oh well- Mom and Sage

I actually wrote this last year, but for some reason it got saved as a draft instead of being posted.  So here it is.  Just as applicable this year as last.

This is one of my family's favorite sayings.  We love it.  I am not stressed!!  Where did this come from?  Its not from a movie, or a book, its from my mom.  This is the story as I remember it (my siblings may remember differently).  It was Christmas time and Mom was busy with Christmas stuff just like we all are at this time of year.  I believe it was the year Mom decided to make a loaf of her famous homemade wheat bread for basically everyone in the ward.  Only Mom would have thought about conquering that all by herself.  If I remember right Greg walked in and saw her surrounded by loaves of bread.  Things were a mess and Mom was obviously frazzled.  Greg stated the obvious, "Mom, you look stressed."  Mom immediately said, "I am not stressed!!"  This was hilarious because it was so obviously not true.  Thus the phrase, "I am not stressed" that we now say at moments that have the most stress possible.  It always brings a little smile amidst whatever craziness is happening in the moment.

I love Christmas.  I try really hard not to make it a super stressful season.  But I've decided that the season in and of itself creates stress.  The pressure of trying to make Christmas memories, help your kids feel the Christmas spirit, remind them what Christmas is really about, get the perfect Christmas tree, and a million other things.  Somehow we're supposed do all of this with a smile on our face, Christmas music playing in the background, sweet smiling kids, and a fire in the fireplace.  Its no wonder why I feel stressed.  My desire to make the Christmas season memorable and enjoyable automatically creates stress.  So what's the solution?  Throw your hands in the air and forget trying to make Christmas so perfectly enjoyable?  I don't think so.  I think I need to remember that part of the fun memories that come from the holidays are the imperfect moments.  Let's face it, most of the stories my family loves telling involve imperfect moments.  That's what makes us smile and laugh in the years to come.

The past few years we've had the tradition of cutting down a Christmas tree.  This has been a great tradition, but it definitely hasn't been perfect.  This year Jake wondered why we should cut down a Christmas tree when it always involves stress and never turns out the way we want it to.  I informed him that the funny stories are what make the tradition great.  Where's the fun in having everything perfectly perfect?

So this year when you're running around shouting, "I am not stressed!!" remember that this is what its all about.  The memories of the crazy things we did to make our kids happy.  The memories of the Charlie Brown Christmas trees.  The memories of trying to make 100 loaves of bread.  Its all about the memories.

So yell "I am not stressed" as loud as you can, then make a fist and let it go.  Because this is what traditions are made of...