Gather around the tree

[Our abuse recovery guide]

Love is so nice to put on our tree, cleotokos. Thank you for joining in! Courage, a fresh start, balance, and all the others are making for such a well decorated tree. I love to come and look at it, to re-read all of our posts and reflect on the beauty that we are, that we have become, and that we show to others. Personally I think it's the most beautiful Christmas tree I've ever seen! 

Harri, thank you for the hot chocolate! It is wonderful. Today I'm popping popcorn to string, but if a llama gets a bowl of popcorn, I'm not sure how much will make it onto the string. 

My ornament for today is resilience. I've made it, through my childhood with an uBPDm and now through my marriage separation. Whew! A lot of work.

There's still more room for ornaments and we have time yet before Christmas to do some more decorating!

 
Wools

[Woolspinner2000]

Love is so nice to put on our tree, cleotokos. Thank you for joining in! Courage, a fresh start, balance, and all the others are making for such a well decorated tree. I love to come and look at it, to re-read all of our posts and reflect on the beauty that we are, that we have become, and that we show to others. Personally I think it's the most beautiful Christmas tree I've ever seen! 

Harri, thank you for the hot chocolate! It is wonderful. Today I'm popping popcorn to string, but if a llama gets a bowl of popcorn, I'm not sure how much will make it onto the string. 

My ornament for today is resilience. I've made it, through my childhood with an uBPDm and now through my marriage separation. Whew! A lot of work.

There's still more room for ornaments and we have time yet before Christmas to do some more decorating!

 
Wools

[I Am Redeemed]

I am hanging accomplishment. I just finished another semester of college. The last eight weeks I took three classes at once, all while working and single parenting, and I made it through!

I'm especially glad that public speaking class is over, and I didn't have a nervous breakdown

I would love to celebrate everyone's accomplishments, big and small. Everyone here is doing great things, hard things. You all rock!

[Kwamina]

Thanks Woolsie for getting the Christmas tree back out for us to decorate together. A wonderful new tradition is born



I too am hanging gratitude, for "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." -- Melody Beattie

[Imatter33]

Today I would like to hang the ornament of music.
Whatever your style, whatever gets you up and out of your seat and moving and shaking and celebrating. I hang music and hope you will join in the party!

*Rihanna’s “We Found Love”  (in a Hopeless Place) came on.* I don’t feel hopeless today, but it can feel like that sometimes. The words struck me differently today. Merry almost Christmas and Happy Holidays!

[podsnapG]

The ornament I’m adding is Friendship. Especially with the holidays here, we recognize the people who we WANT to spend time with, as opposed to those who drain us. Friends are our chosen family!

Best wishes to all!

[Baglady]

Hi BPD family - so immeasurably grateful for this community of amazing souls 

My ornament is self-determination

We are not what has happened to us but what we choose to become - Jung.

Warmth, laughter and peace to all as we gather around our unique Christmas tree 
B

[Ozzie101]

I would like to hang the ornament of forgiveness. This is something I usually do without much effort. It's easy for me to forgive others. It is not, however, easy for me to forgive myself. And, yet, it's so important for our own mental health. May we all be kind and understanding to ourselves.

[Longterm]

Methuen

Peace and Calm sound awesome, I will hopefully be enjoying these over the Christmas period.

LT.

[Zabava]

I am hanging Acceptance.  I am feeling peaceful this  Christmas.  I have let go of raging against the past and pretending I am am fine.  I am not fine...and that is ok.

[Longterm]

  I am hanging Acceptance.  I am feeling peaceful this  Christmas.  I have let go of raging against the past and pretending I am am fine.  I am not fine...and that is ok.

 

LT.

[Rev]

Let's have some fun!  

 
Woolsie

I'm hanging the ornament of conviction - it takes a lot of it to stand up to everything you face when you get out of a relationship a pwBPD. 

For those of you who doubt yourself - here's an ornament for you.

Rev

[Woolspinner2000]

Nice to see you join in, Board Parrot. I like that ornament you chose. 

Music and friendship are a perfect combination Imatter33 and podsnapG. I think Christmas music would be lovely as we decorate together.

Let's see, Baglady and Ozzie101 have brought the important ornaments of forgiveness and self determination. How very important both of them are, to remind us of the positive and necessary qualities of both within our lives.

Peace, calm, acceptance, you all are bringing such beautiful gifts, not just ornaments! And Rev, thanks for joining our PSI family and sharing the strength of conviction with us.

You are all such an amazing family.  I love how we all belong in this family. That is my ornament for today, belonging.

Woolz

[Harri]

Today I hang believing.  Not really a feeling but that's okay right?

I believe in our ability to heal and move beyond our pasts.

[Harri]

Today it is peace for me.   feel peace in my heart which has been missing for a short while so today has been extra special for me. 

I wish for all of you is to have some peace in your hearts and minds.

[Butane]

I'll add an ornament called "Confidence" .

I am learning to keep my sense of reality when others around me dysregulate, do hurtful things and try to confuse me with their own distorted reality.

I am gaining confidence that my perceptions and behaviours are based in healthy thinking and goal setting. I am a normal, healthy person again, and I'm becoming more confident that I can cope with H.

Confidence feels very good!

[GaGrl]

To celebrate Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, which begins at sundown today, let's celebrate LIGHT by lighting a candle. Let us shine light on the unsaid, the suppressed and repressed, bringing into the open what needs to be addressed.

[Harri]

Butane, confidence is a wonderful ornament to hang.  I struggled with that so much (and still do a bit) when looking at my experiences and how they affected me.  Reaching the point you have reached is wonderful and so important in recovery! 

Gagrl, that is beautiful.  The candle looks lovely and I really like what you wrote.  Thank you.   I always enjoy it when Chanukah and Christmas overlap.

[GaGrl]

Gagrl, that is beautiful.  The candle looks lovely and I really like what you wrote.  Thank you.   I always enjoy it when Chanukah and Christmas overlap.

Harri, yes -- my son's dad is Jewish, so we had both holidays going each year. I'd rather they overlap than when Chanukah comes early in December! December goes on forever when that happens.

[zachira]

I have been thinking about what ornament I wanted to decorate the tree. Tonight while I was finishing up my Christmas cards, I double checked the address of a long time friend and found that she had passed away this year. She was a beautiful person both on the inside and out, and the mother of teenage boys. It made me think how sometimes I complain too much. My ornament is gratitude. I am grateful for every day I have on this Earth and want to appreciate my life and the lives of others to the fullest.

[Harri]

Hi zachira.  I am sorry to hear about your friend.   

Today I hang 'capable' because I am capable and strong.  We all are and I hope everyone is able to embrace that.

[Panda39]

Traditions

Being new to a blended Family and like GaGrl's family we also have blended religions we have been talking a lot in our house about our holiday traditions both past and present.  It was great to be present for the lighting of the first Hanukkah Candle by my partner's daughter yesterday and I am excited to make them brunch with the Panda Family Omelet on Christmas morning.

It has been an interesting process determining what we keep and what we let go of in creating new traditions.

Panda39

[GaGrl]

Traditions

Being new to a blended Family and like GaGrl's family we also have blended religions we have been talking a lot in our house about our holiday traditions both past and present.  It was great to be present for the lighting of the first Hanukkah Candle by my partner's daughter yesterday and I am excited to make them brunch with the Panda Family Omelet on Christmas morning.

It has been an interesting process determining what we keep and what we let go of in creating new traditions.

Panda39

My family is quite diverse! We are Protestant. One of my cousins married a man who is Africa-American with a Creole background -- he is Roman Catholic. Another cousin married an Indonesian woman who is Muslim.  My stepchildren observe Theraveda Buddhist (Thai) traditions along with Christian. Then my ex is Jewish. Life is never dull.

I especially like Loy Kratong, a Thai holiday. It is observed on the November full moon and is a combination of forgiveness for transgressions in the past year, letting go of the bad, and renewal for the next year. Everyone makes or buys a "kratong" -- a float made of a slice of banana tree stalk and beautiful flowers like plumeria, orchids and lotus blossom along with a joss stick and a candle. Then you place a coin (for prosperity), a strand of hair, and clipped fingernails into the center and launch it in (preferably) moving water. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see hundreds of kratong floating down a stream or river. Most cities also launch the white paper lanterns. Chiang Mai launches 10,000 and shuts down the airport that night!

[Recycle]

Hi everyone!
I am hanging three ornaments!
Self care
Self awareness
Self reliance

[Woolspinner2000]

Well, it's time to set out the plate of cookies and a glass of milk for Santa.  The Christmas tree has been decorated so beautifully, and I bet that Santa notices how unique this tree is from all the others he will place gifts underneath tonight.

Perhaps some of the best gifts we have are those already hung upon our tree.

Thank you to this special family for all the love hung by the ornaments, each in celebration of you.   

 
Wools

[freespirit]

Sorry I am late (there's always one isn't there)

Thank you for this wonderful Christmas thread Wools and a very merry Christmas to everyone in this thread. 

"Thanks Woolsie for getting the Christmas tree back out for us to decorate together. A wonderful new tradition is born Way to go!" - Kwamina.

A agree Kwamina, I was here for the first one  https://bpdfamily.com/message_board/index.php?topic=331398.0

I would like to also hang gratitude, for you guys, for this bpdfamily support resource, for your love and acceptance of me exactly as I am.

[Methuen]

I would like to hang a late decoration before the end of the season.

I wish to hang RESILIENCE.

As we learn and grow and find our strength, we can build resilience for when we fall down, so that we can pick ourselves up again.

[chayka]

Hey guys!

Still in the Christmas season, so I hope it's not too late to hang two more ornaments. I bring creativity and humour, both life-savers for me.

Much love to all of the family here.

Chayka

[Kwamina]

Hi freespirit, Methuen and chayka

Thanks for joining the celebrations! it is never too late for more ornaments