Sometimes the ribbons, bows and Christmas cards are the trappings instead of trimmings of Christmas.

We think we know best, but it is amazing how much we can learn from our kids. These teenagers that create so much angst, can actually teach us some incredibly valuable lessons. When we loosen our grip on needing to be right, how can we grow from being open.

We strive to make our lives happy, fulfilling, but do we strive to make them extraordinary? What does that even mean? Part of the answer lies in the ability to change what we cannot accept along with accepting what we cannot change. The difference is life changing.

Sending your first born out into the world, splits your heart in two. It is exactly what you want and how you raised them - to be independent and start their own lives, and it rips at your heart knowing his home will never be under your roof again, but instead, home must be the memories in a chamber of your heart.