There are two words that come to mind about this time of year, and neither of them is "giving" or "thanksgiving". To be completely honest, they are, "hide" and "away" immediately followed by, "quick!" For so long, "Away in a Manger," sounded like the description for a great vacation resort. I am in my fourth year of healing from PTSD and I have to admit, I still enter this time of year with some fear and trepidation. I know there are many who feel the same. Crowds are bad enough outside but for many of us, this is the time of year when those crowds now enter our house as invited guests! Opportunity for decompression seems all but nonexistent. As I am writing this, my wife just called to add another event to our social calendar. So I thought this might be a good time to share what I plan on doing this year to avoid the classic PTSD meltdown. I am not saying this will work for everyone, or even that it will work for me, but I have come to realize that defeating PTSD is all about little choices intentionally made in an effort to become healthy. So here is my own special Holiday Recipe.

1. Begin by carving out an appropriate portion of alone time each day! Go to my room if I must but get "centered." Remember to enjoy and experience what this season is all about.
2. Sprinkle in the crowds. No they shouldn't be avoided. But I don't have to go to everything either.
3. When I am in a crowd, any crowd, look for opportunities to be someone else's miracle. It doesn't have to cost money or be some grand gesture. But it does need to require sacrifice on my part and, depending on the situation, all that might be is a sincere smile to an overworked store clerk, or a worn out wife who has given so much to create the meal. Scratch that, the worn out wife better get much more than just a smile. The important thing is that I find ways I am able to make someone else smile.
4. Understand that I have limitations and guard those boundaries fanatically. It's all fun and games until someone runs out of joy especially when that someone is me. When the joy runs out, go back to step one and start all over.

So the last two steps didn't sound too much like a recipe, but hey, I didn't promise it would look good. I also didn't promise it would turn out great, but I figure it's like cooking when it's most fun. It's an adventurous journey of discovery. I will let you know how it turns out.