Jamie Janosz

As a mom, I want Christmas to be perfect. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get everything done and to do it well. But, as a kid, I don't think I ever expected Christmas to be perfect. I just loved this time of year when everyone in my family stopped being so busy with their ordinary tasks and just enjoyed spending time together. Here are a few random and precious memories of my Christmases past: 1) My mom, her sister Roberta, and my grandma "Honey" telling stories at the kitchen table. The more they talked, the harder they laughed. I remember my Aunt Bert with tears streaming down her face trying to make them stop talking so she could get her breath and stop cracking up. 2) One year my dad had the flu. We also had a house full of relatives. I remember my aunt and mom bundling my dad up and propping him with pillows next to the tree. Feverish and flushed, my dad was not his usual self - but my aunt kept teasing him - and we all loved him back to health. 3)

Last night, I watched a favorite movie of mine, The Joy Luck Club , with my teenage daughter. The movie, adapted from the novel by Amy Tan, tells the stories of four Chinese mothers and the daughters they raised in America. It was just as powerful as I remembered it to be. The Joy Luck Club  begins by introducing the daughters who are trying to forge their own identities in America and apart from their very traditional Chinese parents, specifically their moms. The women are both irritated by their mothers' concerns and, yet, still anxious for their approval. One woman fears that her mother will never accept her white, very non-Chinese, fiance. Another thinks her mother will never really be proud of who she has become. Both women yearn for their moms to approve of them to be proud of them. What they do not realize, is that they are. The movie makes a point that resonates deep within me. As mothers (and former daughters) we must be honest about the events that have made us

The weeks leading up to Christmas are among the busiest for most families. The parent to-do list is endless: shopping, baking, cards, decorating, scheduling parties and activities. And, in the midst of it all, there is the nagging feeling in our hearts that maybe we should be doing things differently. How do we push aside the "to-do" list and take time to honor the holiday with our children? How do we help them realize that Christmas is not just about toy commercials and making "I want" lists, but about celebrating the birth of Christ and spending time with those we love? A recent facebook post by one of my former students, Misty Zeller, suggested a great idea. She has a basket of Christmas cards that each list a potential family activity. She has her kids choose one, open it, and use it to inspire a creative time with her little ones. One of her friends said that she wraps up all of the old Christmas story books. Each night the children unwrap one and she o