I LOVE the holidays. I love the cold, and I love the sparkling beauty of a fresh snowfall. I love the smell of evergreen garlands and freshly cut boughs. I love baking and decorating and watching old television specials on Netflix. I look forward to the Solstice and to Christmas with nearly the same kind of excitement I was bursting with as a child, and having little ones of my own has only added to my sometimes insane approach to holiday cheer. I really have to battle to keep myself in check, and make sure that I’m not going overboard…
This post is a guest post from our dynamo fitness expert Oonagh Duncan. and she’s bringing us some exercises to relieve stress, and talking about the many benefits of exercise when we’re stressed out. There’s a video link at the end, but be patient because the audio is rough until about half way through.
Today’s post is a guest contribution by one of our Elite Club members, Psychotherapist Allison Villa. Like many of you, the Fall is a time of great loss and sorrow in my family. I asked Allison to create a piece about Autumn and grief, and she wrote this beautiful essay that I’m honored to share. I hope it brings you some comfort if you too find this time of year particularly poignant.
I suppose it’s strange that with the first dusting of snow on the ground, I am writing about Autumn, but here in the north, we often lose track of the seasons as one seems to slip into the next. The Winter Solstice, or first day of winter, doesn’t happen until December 22nd, so we have another full month of fall before us. In order to savor the last days of my favorite season, I wanted to make some space today for some Autumn reflections.
