Heaven help me, but I had to go to the mall last weekend.

As soon as my Asics crossed the threshold between sunlit pavement and sticky sliding doors, the cacophony of holiday music bouncing off concrete walls hit me like a lump of coal at the bottom of a stocking.

It wasn't quite as bad as Kidz Bop versions of my favorite pop songs, but it still soured my gut.

I know that many, many people love Christmastime the way I love an extra hot, frothy latte on a nippy morn so please, carry on and do you.

At the risk of sounding like Scrooge, here's my truth today: I'm just not feeling the "let's get lit!" vibe of the season yet. And this is 100% okay.

I also want you to know that if you're over it before it's even gotten started, that is also okay.

Seems capitalism hits the yuletide crack pipe earlier and harder. We've all seen faux evergreens and strings of colored lights in our local department stores right after the back-to-school supplies are marked down.

Every year I shake my head and ask no one in particular, "Why the rush?" Could we please just stop and pause and enjoy one observance before racing on to the next?

I'm not delusional and know full well that this rampant shoving of consumerism down our throats is the new norm. Faster. Earlier. With spiked eggnog gusto.

What I do know is that I'm not buying it.

The gifts I most crave right now are moments of presence. I am doing my very best, despite my own distractedness, to engage in one task, one connection, one thing at a time.

Be it joyful connection during a salsa dance or holding space for a weeping client, nothing else matters when a double spin or a 3 tissue cry is in progress.

I'm also ever mindful that for some people the holidays are really tough.

Maybe it's another year of rockin' around the tree without a special someone. Perhaps you're so weighed down by the heaviness of world news that celebrating with turkey and all the trimmings feels selfish and wrong. You might just be (sugar)plumb tired from months of burning candles at both ends.

If I can impart just a small trinket of wisdom today, it's this: please don't rush your process of navigating the coming weeks.

Whether you're bubbly and bright or ready to lay down for a long winter's nap, can you give yourself the gift of simply being in the moment?

Let's hold one another dearly. Check in with your loves. Receive the fullness of your next inhalation and your next exhalation.

Focus your precious energy on what is most meaningful to you.

I'm here if you need me,

Jen (she/her)