Christmas Relationships
LIVE IT UP eNews! December 2007
1. Christmas Relationships
2. Recipe: WHITE Christmas Puddings
Dear Reader
What an experience was India!! You can use every adjective in the book and still not describe this country to the fullest extent. It was smoggy, foggy, amazing, poor, rich, dirty, clean, smelly, wonderful, culturally unique, happy, sad, dangerous, exciting and full of cars, buses, tuk-tuks, taxis, rickshaws, and animals – elephants, camels, horses, donkeys, cows, monkeys, pigs and people! The people were flamboyant, (oh those amazing saris), charming, cons, harassing, honest, intelligent, funny, caring, warm, laughing, happy and … Just amazing.
The Conference I attended was the 10th International Conference for Students Quality Control Circles, and it is a unique event. It was held at the City Montessori School, Lucknow, which has 32,000 enrolled students from Grades 1 through to Degree education and has won a place in the Guinness Book of Records for this feat alone.
Quality Control Circles are circles of learning where students are taught Quality Control principles and methods, and then apply those same principles and methods to a project in their school or community. I was literally gob-smacked with the case studies presented! These students were aged from 12 to 17 years and were fantastic, wonderful, incredible, intelligent, eloquent and smart!
Plus, many of them also sang and danced too, so culturally the entertainment was amazing as well.
What a country! What a people! It has taken me a week to recover from being away for 9 days!
Warm regards Narelle
1. Christmas Relations
Christmas holidays, and indeed other holidays throughout the year, are often fraught with tension, when a family or families is concerned.
The number of times I have heard someone say, “I just wish Christmas would go away so I don’t have to think about how to deal with: his/her mother, father, the brother or sister-in-law, Great Grandma, the ex-sister-in-law, the ex-de facto partner or the kids, and how to manage them….”
Christmas is meant to be a time of love, laughter, happiness and joy. A time to give, and even to receive! But so often, Christmas ends up being the loneliest time of the year, and sadly, has high suicide and self-harm rates.
Many families are dysfunctional to some degree
What can you do if you are caught in this tension and conflict through your family connections or disconnectedness?
Firstly, when children are involved, BE THE ADULT!
Please grow up and consider the consequences on your children if either adult is hard, heavy, sarcastic or malicious in gifts, or words, when the children are present. It is psychologically damming for the children.
BE THE ADULT
This means that you are patient, considerate and put your children before yourself. It also means that you set boundaries and do not accept rude or inappropriate behaviour from either your children or from your ex, or other family members. You do not have to bend over backwards to accommodate everyone, because that will often be impossible.
SOME GUIDELINES
1. Give yourself permission to not go out for Christmas, or to stay home and not go to someone else’s place. If it will end up in fights, stay home, and be pleasant in your rejection of invitations:
“You know what, I decided to stay home this year. It’s been such a busy year, that I decided to follow my heart and have a quiet time at home.”
2. Where children are concerned:
Have a discussion with your ex away from the children, perhaps in a coffee shop, about the following:
a. Who has the kids and on what day and for how long
b. Amounts you’ll both spend on presents – keep this figure low rather than high, and equal dollar spend. Why? Kids are great at pointing fingers and playing parents against each other. Don’t aid them in this destructive behaviour.
c. Drop-off and pick-up should always be on time, at a neutral place, and should never involve discussions between the parents. Keep all discussions separate to pick-up and drop-off so that there is as little tension as possible for your children.
d. Someone is always going to miss out. Deal with it in a loving way and move on. NO GUILT ALLOWED.
e. Remember to take time out for yourself. You are allowed to, and deserve it. Remember, NO GUILT ALLOWED. Parent your own inner child and take a break so you come back refreshed and loving to the rest of your commitments, be they kids, animals, work or people.
f. NO DUMPING YOUR STUFF ON KIDS, EX-PARTNERS, PARTNERS OR FAMILY.
It’s your stuff, so either let it go, or put a smile on your dial and nice words in your mouth.
“Remember, if you cain’t say somethin nice, then don’t say nothin at all…” in the wisdom of Christopher Robin and Pooh.
If you would like to read more on relationships, click here
Sing the Hippopotamus Song below! It’s great!
Master’s Wisdom!
Master says,
“Just Love Me!
Be relaxed, happy and talk to me, and I’ll be nicer back. Stop criticising me, or making judgements, just love me. Don’t say you want a ‘sensible conversation’. Who says it has to be sensible? Can’t it be fun, or silly?
Tell me you love me
Show me you love me
Touch me to love me
Spend time with me to love me
And just Love Me”
I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
Don’t want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don’t think Santa Claus will mind, do you?
He won’t have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door, that’s the easy thing to do
I can see me now on Christmas morning, creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise when I open up my eyes
To see a hippo hero standing there
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too
Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian
2. Recipe: WHITE Christmas Puddings
Take a half packet of dried fruit medley, and soak it in fresh mandarin juice for an hour – just use enough juice to cover the fruit.
While fruit is soaking, chop 2 tablespoons of each of these raw nuts: almonds, macadamias and pecans; and dice 1 dstspn glace pineapple very finely. Mix together with fruit medley and 1/2 tspn cinnamon powder.
Combine all ingredients with (softened) 4 l Vanilla ice-cream and then scoop into individual small pudding bowls (teacups do a nice job), cover with cling wrap and refreeze until the big day. Tastes delicious and is cool and refreshing on hot days.
To unmould, use a hot knife and run around the edges, tap the base gently, and serve with a garnish of a couple of fresh apricot or peach slices and a sprig of mint. Delicious!
