I’ve been tagged by those mensches (hay! look it up before you get mad at me….) over at Sadder But Wiser Girl and Modern Mama Dramas to participate in a holiday fish wish list. Here’s my list: Cod, Haddock, Mahi Mahi, Sea Bass and Wild Salmon. I know a joke about the first three (generic use of third breed):

After returning from a lackluster but passable outing, a fisherman husband rolls over in bed to his wife, tapping amorously for an active snuggle, hoping that she missed him as much as he missed her.  She says, “I cod tuna, I have a haddock.”

Oh… it’s about wishes, not fishes. And I’m supposed to tag five bloggers, not breeds. I’m more than a little slow on the uptick today. I’ll think about the wishes, but in case I blow that, I got the fishes down.

This is the Mahi Mahi. It’s a big fish. Its game size is about as large as an average human third-grade child. I’d show pictures of them with people who’ve caught them to show scale, but I don’t have any pictures of people catching third-grade human children. Oh! the fish? No, none of those here either. I dislike glorifying those moments. I get it that we all have to eat, I just wish people weren’t so proud of killing an animal that has no thumbs or a gun or a helicopter or a boat. Y’dig?

Got it. Well, I can’t think of anything more enjoyable for you, both my readers, than sharing the love of five other bloggers. I’m going share some that I’ve not shared before: 1) my photographer, retro-music and writer friend Alastair over at Kattermonran; he’s got snow falling on his site right now (I wonder if I do too — let me know). 2) Another blogger whom I’ve recently discovered is  Jasmine Kyle  over at JasmineKyleSings – she’s a budding songwriter and super-optimistic person… like OFF the HOOK happy! She’s happy in a sincere and growing, not ImSoHappyICouldRobABankAndMakeYouTheGetAwayDriver happy. 3) The funny, irreverent and always entertaining LadyorNot is my third choice; check out the list of her most favored posts… you won’t be disappointed if you’ve had no choice but to deal with the hotties at the gym. 4) A writer who amazes me with her gift of turning the mundane into the horrifying or amazingly hilarious is my friend over at I Miss You When I Blink. Today’s post about rewriting “Baby It’s Cold Outside” is not for the Christmas sentimental. 5) My fifth and final blogger is the new to me and I hope you will like her too is Ado at Momalog; she’s humble, trying, gracious, funny and real.

I have about 16,000 60 other blogs I’d love to share, but I wanted to share some wonderful unshared bloggers who’ve made time for me in their schedules and whose posts have entertained me as well. Life is challenging, this can be an extremely difficult time of year for many of us: we are missing people we love, we can be stressed out, we can be comparing ourselves to others (great phrase and it’s super short: “Compare and Despair” – I love it!), we might feel inadequate, distanced, isolated and alone. Misunderstood and disconnected.

I have only one wish to share during this crazy holiday season: That we all give ourselves the gift of being our own best friends.

Be your own best friend. It’s more important than you think.

I wish for us all to treat ourselves with grace, compassion, a friendly smile and a loving gesture. When you’re stressing, what would you say to your friend who’d be stressing? You’d tell him to relax and give himself a break; that not everything can be done at once and not everyone will be pleased all the time.

When was the last time you sat down to eat at your table by yourself with a cloth napkin and a nice meal? Do that for yourself. And then find someone at a grocery story ringing that Salvation Army bell and dump the change in your pocket in the bucket. Last year, I did this for myself: I had a civilized lunch at my kitchen table with nice music playing and a wonderful sandwich. When I was finished, I cleared my plate, got my purse and went out to run errands. I heard the bell jingling before I saw the Santa hat. Before I got out of my car, I emptied the change in my wallet and my car’s ashtray (including the paper money I’d had there all year for emergencies) into my hand. When I got out of the car, I put my change in the bucket. It felt awesome. I didn’t need it all year.

When we give love, true selfless and kind and unconditional love to ourselves, we can give so much more easily to others.

Thank you.

PS – I love to hear from you. Lots of bloggers say, “end your post with a question! engage your readers and your followers! let them know you want to hear from them!” I don’t do that always because I know you’ve got lots to do and I just appreciate your being here. I hit 400 friends yesterday on my Facebook Grass Oil fan page (link at right if you’re so inclined…) and I’m really grateful. So I want you all to know that I end every post with “Thank You” because I mean it. I’m glad you made it to the end. xoxo