By Jan Penton Miller
Columnist

The corner where my tree’s twinkling lights stood looks a little bland. Even though I have arranged some plants in the space, and one is about to bloom it still appears well…dull. After all the pretty paper and ribbons adorning the corner under the  tree have been opened and the last bite of leftovers either thrown away or eaten the place needs a little something.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Thanksgiving could be celebrated a little earlier or later? It seems as if October, November, and December are a blur of fun and excitement. Then there is January with all our resolutions of what we plan to do better this year than the year before. I usually make the same resolutions as most of us do to exercise and eat healthier. After all the party food I definitely need to hit the gym which reminds me to check out the time for the line dancing class I plan to attend today.

I’ve always loved dancing and thought learning a few might help motivate me to stick with the program. Hopefully, I’ll be ready for a little boot scooting when my nephew marries in June. We’ll see how that goes, but that’s the plan anyway. My phone just caught my eye, and I realized it is almost time to get ready.

One of the listeners on K-Love radio called in with a good idea for next year. She said that they take stock of their holiday when they put the decorations away. They write how they are feeling about the way they celebrated, how much money they spent, and how they could make it more Christ centered the next year. Then they place this paper in the box with their Christmas decorations to help them stay balanced when next December rolls around.

It is easy to get caught up in all the hype and eat too much or drink too much. Thankfully, I hardly drink at all, but the eating got a little out of control this year! I won’t lie and say it wasn’t fun, though, but next year I will try to do a little better in this department.

I have told you guys about my friend, Joy, before. She is such a great shopper and buys gifts literally all year when things are on sale. Every year I think about doing that, but I probably won’t do it this year either. I’ve reserved a cabin  for all the family in February as my Christmas gift to them. I thought I could do that instead of individual gifts, but when it came down to it that was too hard. I guess giving gifts is one of my love languages because I bought extra gifts for them anyway.

I know it will be a wonderful family vacation, and we will make great memories. Now, I just have to get excited about losing weight and paying my credit card bill!