What are you waiting for? Christmas? It is getting closer with each new sunrise and sunset.

It will not be long before the beautiful wrapped gifts are opened and the festive paper and ribbon are in a big green trash bag. Sounds anticlimactic, doesn’t it. Is the anticipation of gift giving the true present? St. Francis stated that in giving we receive.

Perhaps the greatest gift that one could wrap up for a loved one is themselves. Can you just picture your favorite people sitting under the tree with a bow tied beneath their chin and glitter on their shoes? Their middle crinkling from the wrapping paper surrounding their torso.

If the best gift requires someone to give something of themselves then make it the best. The jewelry and perfume ads want us to decorate and fumigate our loved ones. Clothing and shoe stores try to sell us the most attractive and reliable items to put on our loved ones. Looking and smelling good is an awesome gift.

What about the insides of a person? Not just the heart and soul of someone but the organs and guts of a body. Are they going to be their best for the holidays?

December calendars are crammed with doctor’s appointments because many people want to get time with their doctor before the new year begins and health insurance deductibles start all over again. Multiple physician visits can be depressing and many people just refuse to learn any bad news over the holidays.

The Christmas season is the best time to prepare for the best gift of all, a healthier you. Do not wait until January to start exercising. The best version begins today in anticipation of giving a clean bill of health to your loved ones.

If that means waiting and visiting a physician’s office or making a dental appointment or sitting in an optometrist’s chair reading nonsense letters in the dark, do it. Make the time to take care of yourself because remember, you are a great gift to your loved ones.

Those people who are too busy caring for others to care for themselves need to realize that if they get sick, who will care for their loved ones? Denial is not an option. Refusal to get a checkup or an annual eye or dental exam is presenting less than your best when the gift wrapping is all over.

Pretty jewelry, beautiful perfume and fancy clothes cannot cover up a neglected health status. This holds true for people who ignore their blood sugars or their blood pressure. Beauty is only skin deep but the condition of the body runs straight to the bone.

And if you think that ignoring your own health is a healthy thing to do just remember that after all the presents are unwrapped, even the prettiest paper and ribbons end up in a big green trash bag.

What are you waiting for? Christmas? It is getting closer with each new sunrise and sunset.