What does the word Starting with C mean to you?

Christmas, the word, how does it make you feel when you first hear it? Does it make you anxious, thinking of the money you will spend on it? Does it remind you of Jesus’s birthday?

Family gatherings and lots of food? No matter what store I visit, I see trees decorated to the max. Christmas music can be heard from some stores. Bright lights, glittery reindeer, all sizes of Santas.

When I was a kid, I would get excited, like every other kid I suppose. Dreaming of what that one gift under the tree would bring that only Santa carried on his sleigh. Yes, we received a few more gifts but not many.

Christmas in our home wasn’t so much about how many gifts we received. It was the day Jesus was born. A day to go to Grandma’s house and see all of our cousins we hadn’t seen for so long. A day to eat and over eat, run inside, try our new pajamas on.

Christmas day was filled with so much pleasure. In those days I didn’t give a thought nor would I have understood what goes on for the mom’s in our lives. Stress, shopping, spending money, getting everything just right.

This year at Christmas for me, I probably won’t put a tree up. My daughter believes I should, maybe even a live one. Wow, I haven’t smelled a live pine tree inside my home for years.

I am so looking forward to spending the day with my kids and grandkids. I can’t help bring to the front, the thoughts of Al, and my parents. The grandparents that used to form such wonderful memories in my mind.

I wish over and over that some things in life didn’t have to change. There will be a large void in my life this year at Christmas. I am going to try real hard to make new memories without my life back home. I am going to count each day I awake as a new blessing I was given.

I am not going to be spending so much time in the stores shopping but instead treasure each word and each face on the day I go home to visit. I have only been gone a month, but you know me well enough to know I miss those grandkids back home and my other kids.

Mean while, I am going to lay my head back and take a ride of my new Christmas this year. No getting all psyched out and stressed over nothing that matters anyway. My kids, my family, that is what matters. Can I get an AMEN to this?

 

 

 

 

Pace Oddity

http://dailypost.wordpress.com

If you could slow down an action that usually zooms by, or speed up an event that normally drags on, which would you choose, and why?

 

Love, I would slow down love. Now that I am older, I see such a difference in people’s attitudes. It turned from love each other to love thyself. It isn’t a pretty sight. Is this what we want to portray to others? We don’t care anymore about our good qualities we hold on our insides?

Don’t we realize that those outer looks that we take such pride in; well, they fade away much quicker than our inner beauty. I grew up being a people pleaser. Now maybe this wasn’t a grand quality. I tended to give-up a little of who I truly was in order to make others happy.

I do believe though that God gave us each a special talent. You don’t have to be talented as a movie star, or a famous singer. You may have a talent that specializes in helping others. Your talent may be; cooking or baking, but in the back of your mind you already have an idea of whom you may share your goods with.

Maybe your talent is compassion or teaching. Maybe visiting nursing homes or volunteering your time is your itch.

I just don’t believe that love can follow such a routine of goodness if we are all about ourselves. I still believe that love is the glue that holds us all together. It makes depression disappear. It makes insecurities fade into darkness. It helps us hold our heads a little higher, walk with a happier step.

Yes, love is what I would slow down, never let it truly disappear. No more showing it only at holidays, let’s keep it alive all year-long.

 

 

Vote, and Thanksgiving Day

It was sad that Mother Nature decided to bring in big winds, chilly temperatures and just plain ugly weather for trick-or-treaters last night. I saw a few kiddies going house to house; but I am sure there were several who didn’t make it out for fear of coming down sick later.

Now that the haunted hours are over, I guess the next thing in line on the calendar is the big voting days. All I see on commercials are ads for politicians. I get a kick out of the ads; as at the end you hear, that the politician doing the advertising states that he/she approves of the commercial.

 

 

 

Approves? Since when do we need approval to say little white lies? Since when do we need approval to go way out of our way to find the black, clumpy dirt about other candidates that are running?

Wouldn’t it be fitting to set all the ugly on a couch on the back porch and join together as one country and look for the good in our candidates? We could look at their long-term activities. We could place the good and the bad on a weighted scale and see which one comes out the strongest.

Politics isn’t about who will stick to their guns and do what is best for the people and by the people as a union. Politics is more about sticking the gun up someone’s behind and coming out on top with the smoke still rolling from the gun.

How dare we criticize our politicians when we are blind-sighted by commercials and gun fire during campaigns. If only we could put a pair of ear muffs on and listen only to our instincts and add a little heart and logic in our voting. Our country may turn out a little bit better.

The next day we have approaching after voting is Turkey day, Thanksgiving. A time to stuff our guts, over spend on groceries, lay back in the lounge chair and sleep off the overload of calories.

It is a time to see long-lost family members, catch up on gossip, put our dressy clothes on. It is also a sad time for the lonely. The ones whose spouses are in nursing homes or worse yet,  have passed on.

Divorces, moving to different areas all of a sudden ring loud and clear that change has occurred. Some will go to churches or designated areas where they will get one hot meal this year.

Others still, will stand around barrels of hot fires and talk about the good old days and maybe even wish things were different. This year when we are thinking about what menu to put together; when we are saving back those extra dollars to purchase the food, put a little extra in for your neighbor, or shut-in down the street. Let’s have a true Thanksgiving feeling inside and out this year with everyone.