Dear Fellow Caregiver,  

Merry Christmas from Colorado! Welcome to Sip of Soup, my monthly email of insights and lessons to help you live a more balanced life.

LeAnn

 

Positivity Power

What is the best present I can give him this year? What will make her shout, "This is what I really wanted!"? Our minds and pocketbooks are jiggling with these time-worn questions every December. Yet, the perfect gift is so easy, so simple, we don't see it. But my mama did...

Lessons from LeAnn

I remember as a little girl Mom saying, "Don't buy me a present, just write me a poem or make a card and write how you feel inside. That's what I really want--it's the best present ever."  It took me a couple of decades to realize that statement was not just a ploy to keep me from shaking the contents from my piggy bank. It really was what she wanted.

 

One year my financially challenged college-aged son scrawled three lines of sentiment on a homemade card. I have it today. Still. I treasure it. It was the best present ever. After reading literally tens of thousands of true personal Chicken Soup stories these past years, I'm more convinced than ever that what people really desire to share and receive are gifts from the heart.

 

So what do we give those we love and care about? A present from Macy's? A package from Amazon? A parcel from Penney's?  No, a piece of our hearts. That's living our priorities. If you feel better attaching your written sentiments to an expensive gift, go right ahead. But I promise, the real gift will be your heart-felt words. Everyone you love will love it. The same teenagers who refuse to be seen with you in public may never admit it out loud, but your message is one they will treasure today and many tomorrows. "It's what I really wanted...the best present ever."

 

Happy holy holidays! 

Sip du Jour

A Healthy Quote:

"Anything that has real and lasting value is always a gift from within."

Franz Kafka

For your signed copy of LeAnn's latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Answered Prayers, personalized and in time for Christmas giving, click on the book to get yours, and specify how you'd like LeAnn to personalize your book under the Comments/Special Delivery Instructions section:

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