What Christmas Means to Me #MerryChristmas

I am going to be nostalgic today. What the heck. Merry Christmas. Oh, and Happy Holidays, too.

Ever since childhood, Christmas was one heck of a holiday in the Barrera household. As kids, the trees always looked spectacular and they probably were. Our Mom would try all the trends. Green trees, white trees, silver trees. Multi colored ornaments, same color ornaments on the tree, tinsel, one of those light contraptions that changed colors on the tree, my personal favorite I might add.

Then there were the zillions of wrapped boxes. Okay, maybe a few dozen but as a kid, the wrapped presents looked like a mountain of surprises. Our family did not have a great deal of money but we did have a great deal of love and laughter.

One thing we also had growing up in a Latin household with the deep Catholic influence. The four of us kids went to parochial school all the way through 12^th grade. I wasn’t particularly fond of school experience and yet now that I look back, I am very grateful our parents sacrificed so much to give us a better education. I can say that my siblings and I grew up with morals and values that are the framework for the adults we are today.

Having God in our home was fun, believe it or not. If you knew my Dad, you would know that us kids more or less grew up with a stand-up comic at heart. Our Mom on the other hand, was our rock. Yeah, we said our prayers but as we all aged and became young adults, even our parents changed with the times. God and our spirituality grew as we evolved. With that sense of humor.

For our family, God was always and will always be a part of our individual framework. So, Christmas time wasn’t just the presents, it was the season to reflect on why we were grateful. The family gatherings, the family meals, the family events. We laughed our way through Christmas.

We were so grateful! (We are still grateful, fyi) For a loving family and household. For parents that, despite their mistakes, loved us deeply. For my siblings that to this day we are all still very close. For the modest homes our parents made sure we had to live in, as small as they were. For so many other little things that were a big deal to us. It was the little things and the laughter. It was all about gratitude.

That is what Christmas means to me. Gratitude.

This Christmas I am deeply grateful for who I am thanks to my parents and siblings. I am grateful for my close friends who are my extended family. I am grateful for so very much. Thank you, God.

#ThankYou #grateful #gratitude #lifelesson #Christmas