This blog is inspired by the culmination of almost every conversation I’ve had in the last seven days that I strongly suspect many of my readers will relate to. It goes like this –Me: “Hi, how are you?”Friend: “I’m sooooo [insert word associated with being crazy-busy-stressed-hectic-overloaded etc]”It’s hard to escape that we’re in the thick of that time of year. The time when everything we’ve been working on for the last 11 months is due, when we "must" catch up with everyone (even those we don’t like), and when presents expressing the depth of our love for those we do... Read full article »

This time last year I had an endless loop of names buzzing around in my head. Everyone from my husband and kids, to my parents and in-laws, to my siblings and their kids, to our extended family and friends, my son’s childcare teachers, neighbours, colleagues, employees, and even the cleaners. For each name on the list, I was wracking my mind trying to come up with a meaningful holiday gift.   I appreciated these people. I wanted to give them something to say “thanks for a great year,” “I hope you have a happy holiday,” and “I wish you well... Read full article »

There is one sentence in the English language guaranteed to trigger a stress response in my body and a friend said it to me the other day.  ‘There are just four weeks until Christmas.’  I instantly felt panic rising in my body with thoughts like ‘I haven’t bought any presents,’ ‘There goes my diet,’ and ‘Here come the late nights.’   To me, the modern version of the ‘Silly Season’ seems completely out of whack with the origins of many of the traditions that we celebrate. In the US, it starts with Thanksgiving and then the rest of the world... Read full article »