On a day that was supposed to be relaxing and mellow, my husband announced that the time had come for us to clean out the garage. Seeing the look of horror on my face, he quickly rephrased his statement. Acknowledging how much I do during the week, he suggested that I sit and do nothing while he attended to the chore. Doing nothing is not something I know how to do, nevertheless it sounded much more appealing than cleaning the garage. To avoid feeling guilty, I went upstairs and attempted to do nothing A few hours later, my husband came in to our bedroom with a smile on his face and a stack of papers in his hand. “Letters to Santa,” he announced. He dropped them on the bed and headed back to the garage. As I began reading the letter our kids wrote many years ago, I couldn’t help but smile at how silly and gullible they were then and how grown up and mature they have become. Then I had an idea — why not get everyone to write a letter to Santa this year? It would be fun and interesting to see how their wish lists changed as they have grown up. At dinner, I announced my idea and was pleasantly surprised when my “gang” didn’t think that I had lost a marble or two. Afterwards, everyone disappeared into their rooms to compose their letters. Surprisingly, it took them much longer this time around. As I read their “grown up” letters, it quickly became evident that their priorities have changed but their values haven’t. I found that toys were replaced with “boys” or “girls.” Getting good grades was replaced with getting a good solid degree. Health and happiness was a priority for all, and peace on earth was an important concern. It warmed my heart to see that my husband and I did something right, that we raised kids with good values and gold hearts. My husband and I had similar requests of Santa. But I, of course, had many more. First on my list was immunity from acquiring any more pounds as I get older (enough is enough!). I want that awesome body I never had, the legs that turn heads, and the flawless skin without wrinkles. I want my 20/20 vision to stick around just a bit longer and menopause to pass me by unnoticed. I want to be constantly, obliviously happy. And did I mention I want to be skinny? These were fun things to ask for, but if you were to read my entire list you would see that the truly important items came towards the end. I want our world to be at peace. I asked for my family to be happy and healthy. I asked for our parents and grandparents to be around us for many years to come. I asked to be able to enjoy my children and their children, and I wanted to continue to be in love with my husband as much as the day I married him. After this fun exercise, we all sat down to talk about what we wanted and how we are going to get it. Regardless of what we asked for, we all agreed on one thing — whether you believe in Santa or not is irrelevant. The key is to believe in yourself, then write down your list and go after it. When you believe in yourself, the sky is the limit! Happy Holidays to you and yours, Yana Berlin

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