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Montreal Is Home
I am deeply grateful to have grown up as part of an English-speaking, Jewish community in a predominantly French-speaking, Catholic city. It seems that, perhaps by osmosis, I learned early-on to respect and appreciate differences.

My Holiday Memories
include lighting the Chanukah candles on our menorah, singing the Hebrew blessings and the warmth of gathering at both my Grandmas’ homes (yaaay for double the presents and double the yummy food). These were small, home-grown, family celebrations.

Christmas Eve
felt different. That’s when the entire world stopped, and a winter hush fell over the city. I remember one year in high school when I had a party of school friends at our house. We were probably singing folk songs while someone played guitar.

I Can’t Tell You
exactly what happened, but here’s how I see it in the memory of my mind’s eye. There was a soft, thick snow falling, and somebody said, “Let’s go outside!” We pulled on our jackets and boots and mittens and a dozen kids went walking through the streets. Literally. Down the middle of streets in our neighborhood. There was no traffic. There was no noise. There was not a sound. We got quiet. Nothing but us and the snow. The world was still. And, dare I say it, at peace.

Fast Forward
just a couple of decades. And our world is not at peace. It’s been quite the year, hasn’t it? I’m always curious to see the yearly Google Year-in-Search video, which comes out in December. It’s a three and a half minute video montage that rapidly summarizes an overview of the year’s biggest searches, trends, themes, etc. 

Re-Whaaaat???
The video starts out with “This year we searched for ways to…” and then these words flash by: reimagine, rebuild, recover, reinvent, renew, reconnect, rediscover, reframe, refresh, reshape, redo, rewrite, reset, recap…Whoa, that’s a mighty list. Laudable, but those words all require effort. And a lot of work.

A Humble Suggestion
If ever there’s a time of year to stop and get still, I would offer to you that the time could be now. If you’re making a list (and checking it twice), what if it were a list of…
– everything that’s right, not wrong.
– everything we have, not what we want.
– everything we’ve accomplished, not how much remains to do.

What If…
Our big “re” word is actually REJOICE? It comes from the old Latin for “to be glad.” What if we give ourselves ease and grace? Ahhhh, I’m feeling better just typing these words! I hope you can catch your breath over this Holiday Season. I hope you are kind to yourselves and those around you. I hope you find ways to gladden your heart and the hearts of those you love. And, by  extension, those you don’t know. We are all in this together.

From my home to yours, may you rejoice, sing, dance, eat well and laugh hearty. Because you sure do deserve it! There’s nothing easy about this adulting stuff. See you in 2026.

Happy, Happy and Merry, Merry to you.

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