gather

I say "Shall we gather?" You say "At the river."

I say, "Of course. I'd love to. See you there."

Stating the bleeding obvious: a major focus of the holidays is people gathering, from office parties to church potlucks to family get-togethers. Don't worry, I am not going to go off on the number of lonely people who have no place to go. But not to say that we shouldn't be thinking about them as well, and by all means, if you know if someone, make them an offer of a place at the table!

No, my point is that I need to be more to open to gathering together with those I enjoy whenever possible, most especially this special time of year. I need to worry less about having our house perfectly decorated, with the latest place settings and hallway decorations and mantle trimmings, as dictated by magazines and pinterest and big box stores, and think more about the sheer joy to be found when I am surrounded by people important to my heart. I have to stop worrying about the decorating "not being done" (because when is it ever?) or the floors not being clean (thanks to the recent snowstorms) or a gourmet meal not prepared (because it's me). I need to order out pizza and let go. Let go, and let it happen, and I am pretty sure no one will notice my dirty floors or less-than-perfect decorations.

Getting ready for a game of Ticket to Ride, in front of the fire.

If you love board games, and you don't already have it,

get this game.

Everything about it, from design to strategy to play, is perfection.

It's not large get-togethers I need to think about either. Just simple family gatherings, drawing together to play board games or even (gasp!) watch a TV show, require minimal planning, but they may require some asking with teenagers in the house. And they are no less sweet for the asking—actually, probably more so, if they do take place.

And of course, it goes without saying that we really need to concentrate on this one year round, too.