How do you celebrate Christmas across the country? We have always been a tight knit family who celebrated the holidays together. As the girls get older, they don’t always come home for the holidays.
In 2013, my daughters were both with the families of their boyfriends. Now Allyce has done this for close to 5 Christmases for two reasons: 1) She is in the hospitality industry and works the holiday and 2) Her boyfriends’ families were closer in distance than California which made for a short trip and more time to celebrate. It is also true that she would come home at the end of January when her property was slow and we would celebrate then. Not bad – two Christmases!
Jen, on the other hand, went for the first time last year to Ohio to visit her boyfriend’s family. They then trekked to Illinois to spend part of the holiday with his grandfather who was recently widowed. This was a very special time and again we celebrated a second Christmas at the end of January when Allyce came home.
This year, my husband and I decided that if we were going to be empty nested for the holiday, we would drive up to Washington and spent the Christmas holiday with his family – mother, 2 sisters and sister’s husband. Why driving you ask? What about snow and inclement weather? Well, we are driving so that our dog, Connor, can enjoy the holiday with his friends rather than in a kennel feeling alone and abandon. While neither my husband nor I have driven in the snow recently, we have rented a 4-wheel drive vehicle that should be the drive easier if it snows in the passes.
It is interesting that we just want to be with family and don’t really care if we “do” anything but talk, share and reminisce. His family is all concerned that we will be bored out of our minds in the small town and have already arranged a sleigh ride among other activities. How different we see things? Clarks’ mom is 91 – we don’t want to miss a chance to celebrate with her whenever we can.
We could have just as soon stayed home for the holiday and celebrated together. However, Christmas has always been about family. Being open to doing things a different way is important to being successful in life as well as being a leader. My experience has led me to know that leaders need to be flexible in their approach. As a leader, rigidity is a quick way to lose your team and not see anyone’s vision happen. I teach The Art of Herding Cats: Leading Teams of Leaders for just this reason. When you have the skills to be a good leader, you are able to explore new ways of doing things, yet still be on the path to seeing your vision of the future become a reality. I will show you how to enjoy and prosper from seeing and embracing the changes that will come along the way. Join me!
Something else I have learned as a business woman is to ask for what you want. If you loved what you just read, this content is not for free. As a form of payment, I am asking you simply to comment or share this on Facebook or tweet about it on Twitter.
Linda Patten, MBA, BSN, RN has over 30 years of experience leading women to success in building and achieving their dreams. She turns networking marketing women from product sellers to leaders of highly functioning teams. To learn more about her innovative programs, click on Contact Us.
