A New Twist On New Year’s Resolutions

A new year is coming and there is so much to look forward to and so many things that one can do differently and change their lives forever.  It is easy to lose sight of the fact that we are important in this world.

 “You are not the momentary whim of a careless creator experimenting in the laboratory of life…You were made with a purpose.”

 Og Mandino

I like that quote…to believe that God created us for a reason..not just to exist but to do…to be….and to live. So, as I look to the new year, I have made some resolutions.

  First is to keep my faith in God and realize all the miracles He has created in this world….to wake up and see the miracle of the sunrise, to sit outside and see the miracle of nature….to look at people and see the miracle God created when He formed us. I do believe in miracles.

 

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

Albert Einstein

Second is to quit worrying about what people might think, to be spontaneous and to allow myself to feel.

 

 “You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.”

William W. Purkey

Third is to realize that I am important to someone…be it family, family of choice, friends, even my pet…

 “To the world you might be one person, but to one person, you might be the world.”  anonymous

 Fourth is to sing and sing often …..just because I can. Life can be filled with joy.

“A bird does not sing because it has an answer; it sings because it has a song.”

Chinese proverb

Fifth is to not drift in my life and lose my time. I want to live life to the fullest.

Some people drift through their entire life. They do it one day at a time, one week at a time, one month at a time. It happens so gradually they are unaware of how their lives are slipping away until it’s too late.

Mary Kay Ash

 Sixth is to be myself…to never compromise myself because of others…to always be true to myself.

“It is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not.”

Andre Gide

“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.”

Hardy D. Jackson

 Seventh is to realize that I am a role model to someone whether I want to be or not.

“Whether or not you have children yourself, you are a parent to the next generation.
If we can only stop thinking of children as individual property and think of them
as the next generation, then we can realize we all have a role to play.”

Charlotte Davis-Kasl

Eighth is to accept and use the fact that I am in charge of me and my feelings and how I act. That my faith is up to me and no one else and to act in a way that people treat me like a person of worth.

“You are in charge of your feelings, beliefs, and actions. And you teach others
how to behave toward you.  While you cannot change other people, you can
influence them through your own behaviors and actions.  By being a living
role model of what you want to receive from others, you create more of
what you want in your life.”

Eric Allenbaugh

Ninth is to not waste my time on senseless anger. If I am upset…to talk about it and get it out and over.

 “For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tenth is to quit searching and realize that happiness is inside me. It is not in my possessions, in other people, in my job, in my car..but within my heart. That I can be gloriously happy and have nothing.

“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look past the imperfections.”

 Unknown

Eleventh is to reach out in kindness to those around me. I believe we have an inherent responsibility to help those around us, be it with a kind word, helping them in a time of need, offering them comfort, whatever.

 “All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.”

Danny Thomas

Twelfth is to really take the time to look at people and pay attention to how they are feeling and center less on me and more on the feelings of others.

Never worry about numbers.  Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you. 

Mother Teresa

And last is to LIVE…not just exist…to get out there and taste life one bite at a time.

 “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

Oscar Wilde

 These resolutions are something I think I can incorporate into my life and make my life the fullest it has ever been.  And they are resolutions I believe I can keep through out the year and past. What resolutions do you have?

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.–Dr. Suess

♫♫Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. ♫♫

video by  AngelLove831

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE.

The Difference In A Second

As I lay here in the early morning light, I thought about something that we all take for granted….life. I was watching an old Mash show last nite and in it, a young boy died on the operating table and Radar was so upset that one of the doctors followed him and sat down to try and comfort him. Radar said something that really resonated with me. He said “how can a person be alive one second and dead the next”.   That set me to thinking about a second and about life.

When we are young we think we will live forever. That is just part of being a kid. And sadly, children die daily. My heart hurt last nite for the woman who was sick and her neighbor was taking care of the kids and he killed the daughter and dismembered her. I thought about all the children who die daily from abuse, from predators, from accidents. So….no, we don’t live forever. In a second, we can be gone.

And as we get older, we realize that life has no guarantees of tomorrow. So, why do people not value life more? And why do we not realize what a monumental thing it is when people reach the age of eighty, ninety…a hundred.  As a whole, life is treated as if nothing can stop it and yet daily people are dying for many reasons…..gone in a second.

So, what should we be doing?  I think life is something we have to remember to not take for granted and to realize that …in a seconds time…we may have lost the time to tell our loved ones how much we love them, to hug our loved ones and to give to them all the love we hold in our hearts.

Part of valuing life is valuing our own health. I look back and see things I would have done so differently had I realized that life is not a guarantee and that part ….only part…of living is up to me. I would not have smoked for one for I believe that destroys our health. Now, to be honest, I loved smoking. I loved the taste and the feeling having a cigarette with my morning cup of coffee. But, to be realistic…my body did not.  I would have eaten healthier, exercised more and taken better care of me. And I would have detached myself from emotional vampires who love drama and love to suck the life from you.

While taking care of me is important, what about valuing the life around us. Every moment we waste not being with loved ones, not telling loved ones how much we care or spending time showing them….. are moments that are lost forever. We can never get them back.  And we may not get the opportunity to do it in the future.  They can be gone in a second.

How many times have you heard people after someone dies say oh they wish they had done or said this or that. Hindsight is always 20/20 but it should wake us up. It should make us realize that all the ugly drama that can enfold with families and close friends is really not worth it. What will it matter who said what a year from now?  Think about all the tension and drama around holiday time…how it ruins holidays…takes the joy away from it…and that holiday will be gone and can not be replayed. There is no rewind in life.

I have seen people who carried grudges for years to the point they don’t even remember what the reason was…they just knew they were mad at the other person. And all that time, they lost being with someone who was important in their life at one time. And that time can never be regained.

Perhaps the older I get, I realize that I have less time than I did at twenty. But, even being twenty…I can see that life was not seen as precious as it should have been by me and by many. I think the world has become consumed with “possession-itis” and it is what we can buy or attain that has become most important and has taken over where family and loved ones should be top of the list.

When son and I decided to sell the house and move on this side of the mountain, our goal was to get rid of bills and get rid of the burden of a huge house of 2200 square feet …a house in which we did not use all of it most of the time….and find a home we could pay for or at the least pay less for that was smaller. And we accomplished that with this small little cottage house we have. And daily we look around and realize how much we love it. There is not one space in this house that is not used daily.  And the strain of paying for that huge house is off of us. It allows us to do quality things together, just like the making of our thanksgiving dinner where the making and cooking together was the most important part. The eating was just the reward of it.

Many want fame and fortune to be what they are remembered for. Fame and fortune can be gone in a second too and so many people have seen this with the depression our economy has been in the past few years. When I die, I want to be remembered for the love I gave, for the time I spent, for the calls I made or the visits I did or the times I shared my life…my home and special events with those I love.  I want people to remember that I loved them and that I valued them and wanted them in my life…that I was there in hard times for them, that I gave of myself to comfort them.

I also don’t want to lose people in my life and regret that I did not spend more time with them, that I did not call them or write them or visit them ….did not hug them and let them know I loved them..that I was not there in their time of need. I want to live my life so that the important things …like love and family and family of choice are top of the list…not how famous I am or what a big home I have or what a big career I have or had. If everything can be gone in a second…I want to know that my seconds were spent on the most important…on those I love and care about.

So, what about you?  How are you spending your moments in life?

Under The Stars

It is dark here now and I was standing and looking out the sliding glass doors. I put on my coat and stepped outside for just a minute and stood there. All was quiet and the stars were twinkling and I started thinking about the first Christmas. The more I thought it was as if everything receded and I was standing in a field.

Take the time and step outside and.stand there alone and stare at the stars and then envision yourself standing in a field….just you and the sheep you are watching. And just imagine that while you are standing there, from the sky you hear singing and you look up and see angels in all their glory singing and telling you a great message…a message about Jesus. Would you believe them?  I thought long and hard and wondered how I would react during those times, especially when people were so skeptical already.

And as you continue to stare at those stars and envision the angels in the sky, allow yourself to hear the singing and the message you are being told. And then imagine you decided you need to go see this for yourself. And so you head out.

Meanwhile, in another land in different places are three wise men. Pretend you are one of them who wants to see this which you knew was going to happen and so you set off on your camel to travel a long ways.  Oh my what faith these people had. I can not visualize any of us packing up and traveling by the path of a star to find a baby that was supposed to save the world. And yet they did.

Then, I allowed myself to see…a stable with this star shining brightly over it and I actually felt myself tremble with the thought. I felt like a voyeur by then as I watched in my mind’s eye a story I had heard many many many times. I could see the stable and the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and Mary beside the baby and Joseph standing nearby. And I could see the awe and amazement on the shepherd and the wise men. And I actually felt my legs go weak and sat down right there as I continued my mental and spiritual journey.

I think it says so much that God used something as small and fragile and dependent as a tiny baby to send us a savior. It is a demonstration to me of our weakness and dependence on Him. And as I sat on the back step in the cold with the stars twinkling around me and seeing almost like looking in a snowglobe the reason for this holiday, I found tears in my eyes for it was so beautiful.

Our hearts and our faith are what keep us going in life. And faith is believing in what you can’t see but I believe we can see it….if we just take the time to open our hearts and our minds. And so, on this note…I bid you all a Merry Christmas and prayers that yours is a wonderful and joyous time and a time of peace.

thehandmaid.wordpress.com

Eleven Hints For Life

These are not my words but I loved them when I read them. Thought they were good with the holiday season on and reminders that life does not always work perfectly.

“Eleven Hints for Life”

1. It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return.
But what is more painful is to love someone and never
find the courage to let that person know how you feel.

2. A sad thing in life is when you meet someone who
means a lot to you, only to find out in the end that it was
never meant to be and you just have to let go.

3. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a
porch swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you’ve ever had.

4. It’s true that we don’t know what we’ve got until we lose it, but it’s also true that we don’t know what we’ve been missing until it arrives.

5. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an
hour to like someone, and a day to love someone-but it
takes a lifetime to forget someone.

6. Don’t go for looks, they can deceive. Don’t go for wealth, even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.

7. Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be. Because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

8. Always put yourself in the other’s shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the person too.

9. A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck a life. A timely word may level stress. But a loving word may heal and bless.

10. The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

11. Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, ends with
a tear. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you’re the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.

- Unknown

 

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn’t supposed to ever let us down, probably will. You’ll have your heart broken and you’ll break others’ hearts. You’ll fight with your best friend or maybe even fall in love with them, and you’ll cry because time is flying by. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, forgive freely, and love like you’ve never been hurt. Life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, no second chances. you just have to live life to the fullest, tell someone what they mean to you and tell someone off, speak out, dance in the pouring rain, hold someone’s hand, comfort a friend, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, be a flirt, and smile until your face hurts. Don’t be afraid to take chances or fall in love and most of all, live in the moment because every second you spend angry or upset is a second of happiness you can never get back.

- Unknown

 

 

♫♫Let There Be Peace On Earth♫♫ AND Love and Tolerance

I took the night-time pictures but wanted to share some music with you while I showed the pictures.

This is especially for Marg and Keisha

video by girardsag

Aunt Debbie Loves you princess.

I got a picture of the nativity all lit up.

Santa Claus is coming to town and I am ready for Him.

video by  SlyFets

Jacob singing to Santa. What precious love these children have.

video by Heidijmoore

A Christmas story…told beautifully.  And what better gift than love and to go and love everyone.

video by experiencejoy

 Christmas is a time of love and joy and peace on earth. I am thankful for children like Keisha in my life for they instill such joy and happiness and such total love.

video by claudettecolbert60

Do Things Always Come In Threes And Has Anyone Seen My Oasis?

“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We’re afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We will fall!”
“Come to the edge.”
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.

Guillaume Apollinaire,   1880-1918

If you expect life to be simple and calm….don’t. I have learned that it is a roller coaster at times and sometimes you just have to hold on and pray. And if you get too tired, just lay down in the seat, for it will still zoom you along whether you want to go or not.

I am sitting here wondering if things always come in threes. I sure hope not because two in two days is enough. Last nite son fell on the ice and tore his knee open and banged it up pretty bad.  That was one. Now, he just hollers to me and says bring the medicine box. I go in the kitchen and he is leaning over the sink and blood is going everywhere and I look at his hand and the end of his thumb has a huge jagged place where a screw went into his thumb and came out and tore on the bottom side. Ugly let me tell you.  That is two. I really don’t want three. LOL  Good thing we have three medical boxes from son being a First Responder.

I looked outside today. First time in a while and the snow is still here. It has been bitter cold but sunny so I guess the snow will take a while melting.

This is the flat areas. We have piles still from where son shoveled and had to put the snow somewhere. Those will take a lot longer to melt. But I still love the snow. It is so beautiful to me.

According to the weather, we have cold and sunny for the next few days. So we will see if the sun melts this snow away. Good news is we have had a lot of snow and that is good for our water levels and the drought problems we have in the summers.

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all.  Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle.

The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.     

Ayn Rand

Sometimes I lay in the dark and feel the cool breeze of the fan and close my eyes just for a while, weary from the battle. But I have always been a warrior and I have always fought when everyone else said give up and I continue to do so. I think perhaps I finally got that through to the Social Worker who is helping me convince the doctors that I can not make five trips up to Denver to do this, that I need it all put in one lump visit and that I need to wait until January so that financially I am a little better and physically I have recovered from the cath, the flu and the biopsy. My body is weary…my courage is not and I know what it takes for me to fight.

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

  Dale Carnegie

When you think you can’t take another step, just know that you can. It might be hard. It may even be lonely or feel lonely, but you can.  The decision is…do you want to stop now and rest or do you want to keep fighting…and sometimes…you can do both. We all have within a warrior somewhere…and it will come out when you least expect.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Traveling through Friends

I am so blessed by friends who take me with them on their trips and show me sites I have never seen before.  My friend Sassy takes me all over the United States on her travels with pictures and videos and it is such a joy. Just because one can not do things the normal way, does not mean we can’t find new ways of doing them.

I have been around England and thanks to a dear friend in the UK….Helena..I have dipped my feet in the water at the sea at Cornwall through this video. She made this video for me. They have traveled all over and I have loved seeing the pictures from their adventures.

video by squidlynoodle

I have been on the cruise ship with friends, traveled by internet to the Bahamas, watched the dolphins in the ocean, walked the beaches in other states, been in Churches in New Mexico, been up north in grand Hotels and seen the beautiful views from the high-rise rooms…all through pictures and videos. All because friends care enough to carry me with them.

What a gift that is to let someone else be part of your travels and fun. I had a friend named Audrey five years back. She died of kidney cancer but she and I talked daily for months and months as she was going through her battle. Sometimes we talked two or three times a day. She carried me by phone to concerts and held her cell phone out so I could hear it with her, she sent pictures of videos and talked to me while on vacations. It was such a wonderful gift for someone in her shape to do.

Next time you are traveling, think about those you know that can’t get out and share with them. It is so exciting and makes someone who is home bound or mostly home bound feel like they are part of life.

So, What Are You Willing To Sell Your Soul For?

As I sat here watching the news, I started thinking about how many people.. children.. elderly… women…fragile people…. are used, abused, abducted, mistreated, scammed, attacked, taken advantage of …..in this world. And my thought was….how many of us stand up for what is right or do we just turn a blind eye for whatever reason. I am ferocious when it comes to defending those I love but what about those I don’t know? Am I willing to make people mad, take the heat, be condemned or talked about ….for what is right?

I watched the X Factor last nite and one of the judges did this “Oh I just can’t make this decision. I can’t do it. I will let the fans do it” all because she did not want to make a tough decision and a young girl was voted off that out sang the competition. So, standing up for what is right can be something as simply as doing what you are supposed to do…like this judge who did not do her job.

So, I have to wonder about humans….how much are we willing to sell our souls for to be liked, to be part of the “in” group, to not have people get mad at us, to not be the bad guy, to feed our need for approval? To avoid controversy in our lives?  To avoid confrontation?

We have situations with people in big cities closing their curtains to the screams of someone being attacked or raped because they don’t want to be involved.  People see child abuse by family or friends or neighbors and won’t report it for fear that the ones doing it will find out they turned them in. Others watch someone being bullied and don’t say anything. Others, like the judge, go along with whatever because they want to be liked. Others see people stealing or scamming and yet say nothing because it is not them being stolen from. Others see a crime in process and turn away. Do we ever wonder why?

So, what makes people not do what is right?  It can’t be people don’t know what is right or wrong for in this day and time most people do.  This question is about as complex as explaining why people keep returning to situations they know are bad because they can’t stand not being involved or part of the scene.

I don’t have the answers but I think a lot has to do with fear.  Fear of what?  Fear of being retaliated against, fear of not being liked or people getting mad, fear of not being in the “in” crowd, etc.  Standing up for what is right is not always easy and yes, in this day and time with the anonymity of the internet, people can and will try to attack a person, but it is the best feeling in the world to know that you stood up for what is right, that you helped someone in trouble, or you stopped others from being mistreated, scammed, taken advantage of, etc.

I think every time we let something pass when we should have stepped up to the plate and done something, part of our soul dies. We are not born bad people. We are not born passive people. We learn what we learn from what we see growing up and around us. And our behavior is handed down to our children and those around us. So, what do we do?

Maybe it is time in this world for more people to start stepping up and doing what is right instead of what is popular. Maybe it is time we valued ourselves a little more and acted like we are something worthy and do the right thing by standing up for what is right. If we don’t stand up for what is right….how can we expect others to stand up for us when we need help?  Maybe it is time we realize that our “self-worth” is not based on a popularity contest, is not based on being involved with a group that has pushed us out…which actually makes some people fight that much harder to get back in the group.  Maybe it is time we show those who look to us the right thing so that they don’t learn how to be passive too.

I heard a singer once say they did not want to be someone’s role model, when told that their behavior affected their fans. Well, hate to tell the person but we all are role models to someone whether we want to be or not. There is nothing we can do about it. All we can do is be the best role model possible and live our lives in such a way that what we do does not bring others down. The world seems to have become a “self” world. Perhaps it is time people stood up and said “no, we will not be quiet. We will not silently allow mistreatment, abuse, attacking, scamming, taking advantage of ….others. We will stand up and do what is right.”

Middle Of The Night Christmas Ramblings

Another sleepless night in the mountains, only this time followed by a sleepless day. Maybe I am just geared up from all the delirious sleeping I was doing while so sick, or maybe it was the sleeping I did after the heart stuff and I have slept too much and am now overdosed on sleep. Who knows. When I lay awake like this, my mind goes ninety to nothing thinking about this and that. Tonight, I find myself feeling rather sad. Perhaps it is the holiday blues everyone talks about.   Or a residual of being through hell the past week and a half and feeling rather empty and all used up.

I had so looked forward to our first Christmas in our new house and it is being consumed with doctor stuff to the point that son and I were talking that we might not even get to make the cookies together that we hoped. Next week is back to back trips to the doctor….the gyno one in Pueblo for those three-month paps and biopsies, one here for biopsies on my back, another for a check up with the cardiologist and of course Denver in all it’s glory is looming in there somewhere.

I think I better not eat any strange food between now and Denver for I don’t want a repeat of the past few days to mess up getting this kidney stuff over with. Couple that with being afraid to even Christmas shop for fear we will spend money we need for the Denver trip, the holidays have seemed rather bleak. But, that is ok for they will fly by with all the medical that is hitting now and through the month. We got our Christmas with our home. I really can’t ask for anything more.

I wrote the other day about how years ago, we had to iron our clothes, wash dishes by hand, cook hours to fix our meals and now all these modern conveniences are here to save us time and yet everyone is busier than ever. And one has to wonder why. What is so important that instead of enjoying the time these conveniences save us with loved ones, we have added more busy busy to the list.  Are we losing sight of what is really important?  Are we letting precious moments get lost in our zest for busy busy busy?  Once the moments pass by, we can never regain them.

For sweet Darlene:  We all have families of origin and many of us also have families of choice. This happens for many reasons. Sometimes, because of distance, sometimes because family members can’t get along (and I send hugs for your email hon) and sometimes because we just choose people to be part of our family too. Enjoy those that want to be with you this holiday hon and don’t let those that are being distant or have hurt you ruin your holiday. Life is too short.  Eat with that family of choice and enjoy yourself.  And take care of that foot. And I hope you get your password on here fixed so that you can post again. I enjoy your emails but would love to see your posts on here too. HUGS

Family of choice….I love those words. To me, it is simply family and just as important as any family member. Love is not limited by blood. We can be blessed with family AND family of choice and it is a blended family..that is all. Son and I used to have open house Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and we would invite people we knew had no place to go or no family to eat with. I loved it. We cooked two turkeys and I have a buffet roaster and it has the serving dishes you put in to keep the food warm. And I made pie after pie, trays of dressing, gravy, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, green bean casseroles, rolls and it was lined up on our kitchen counter that had a bar on one side SO people could fill their plates from either side. We set tables up in the living room and usually had about twenty people. Son smoked the turkeys..two huge turkeys. And we had it ready and people could come in and eat. Someone was always at the tables, often just lingering over the pumpkin pie and coffee and just talking. It was a time of family and family  of choice.

At Christmas, I searched during the months before at yard sales and flea markets for one gift for each person that we knew was coming. It was not an expensive gift but it was something I knew they would like. And we all sat around the living room in a circle, after cleaning up the dinner, and everyone opened their present. I got the greatest joy from just watching these people open a gift they might not have had. And a tradition under son’s and my tree has always been the “gift for the unknown guest” and we would have something small for a boy and girl child, a female adult and a male adult. And you know what…they were always needed for someone would show up and say “my uncle so and so showed up, I hope it was ok I brought him. Or they would have an extra child. Our Christmases were filled with children and people in the home on those holidays and everyone got joy from it including us.

Wow, this has taken a turn of Christmas memories. Since we moved out here, I have had so many health issues that I have not been able to cook and do like that but son was talking about how he hoped we could start that tradition up again maybe next year. It sure is a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays. One year, we had a woman from church who was a vegetarian and I looked in the store for that fake turkey so that she would not feel left out. She cried when she saw that I had gone to that much trouble to make sure she had her own turkey just like everyone else.

The last two years on the other side of the mountain, son and I would go to the community Thanksgiving dinner the town had at the fairgrounds. It was really nice. Tables and tables of food, buffet style with servers. Long tables with table clothes and decorations and they had door prizes and entertainment. People, rich or poor, came and would even bring their out-of-town families to eat. It was set up in a huge room like a big gymnasium and rows and rows of long tables were decorated. Servers walked up and down and brought you drinks and dessert and during this time, a band was playing up on the stage. Another way to have a blessed holiday dinner. One year I was sitting next to a man who was a veteran from WWII and he regaled us with stories of his life as a fighter pilot. It was really fun and interesting.

Holidays signify family to people and when a family member is missing, it is hard to get into the spirit of things. I remember losing loved ones over the years and I finally found a way to fill my heart from the physical loss of the person. I would find someone to adopt during the holidays and I would bestow on them the love and gifts that I would have given to my loved one and it was my way of bringing to life the person who had gone on to the next world. And something always happened to let me know that my loved one saw and was there during that time. One year, I was giving presents and spending time with the adopted person and I reached down to dust some mud off my pants leg and when I did…something seem to fly out of my hand and we all heard a thunk. When we found what it was, it was a penny…with the year of the birth of the person that I had lost on it. Now, you can call it a coincidence but I call it a message letting me know they were there and enjoying what was going on.

Well, now that I have talked your ear off and it is two in the morning, maybe I can get relaxed enough to sleep. I thought I could leave off the phenergan but realize maybe one more day I might need it since I am not really eating and so my stomach gets queasy. Maybe that is why I can’t sleep.

I hope and pray you all have a wonderful holiday season. Take time to show those you love just how much you love them. Remember…love is free so apply liberally. And take time to remember those that don’t have that love. Life is harder for some than others and they need us to lift them up.

Give the Gift of Knowing What It Is Like To Be Loved This year.

I saw this today on the television and thought what a wonderful concept.  They said to give the best gift of all this holiday season…to give the gift of “knowing what it was like to be loved”.  I thought about that long and hard. The gift of knowing what it is like to be loved….what a concept.

Sometimes we take for granted the very things in our lives. Being loved is one of them.  We just assume everyone has someone that loves them and shows them that love but the truth of the matter is…many many people in this country and this world don’t have that. Think about the people in nursing homes. Many are forgotten and just left there….never having visitors or anything. My sons and I used to go visit at the nursing home and would ask to be directed to those that had no one.

I remember taking my kindergarten class one year to perform at the nursing home. One woman thought I was her daughter and just hung on me and hung on me. She called me Brenda the whole time and kept asking me why I didn’t wear the dress she made for me and she would hold my hand. My heart was breaking for her and then I realized that she was happy at that moment. She was happy because she believed her daughter was there with her. And so I sat there and talked with her and held her hand through the show and just loved her as if I were her loving daughter. What a simple gift and yet we all have it in us to do that.

I thought about all the children around the world who never have the opportunity to know what it is like to have a loving mother or father. Children here in our own country who come from homes where there are drugs and violence and don’t know what it is like to be loved. I truly believe that is why the Big Brother and Big Sister programs were started. To give these children what they would never get otherwise.

Right in our families, we can give the gift of love, of time spent, of letting someone know they are loved. It does not cost piles of money….it basically cost our time and effort.

I am sitting here watching Laverne and Shirley and remembering about how we had to iron all our clothes back then. So many time saving things have been created from permanent press clothes to special washers and dryers to dishwashers and microwaves….all to give us more time and yet we seem to be in more of a hurry today than ever. Why?

How can we give the gift of showing someone what it is like to be loved? Perhaps we can share our home by inviting those who have no where to go, to come to Christmas dinner? Or, we can fix a box with a dish made from a treasured family recipe and share it with someone….along with the recipe. How about adopting a child for the holidays to buy Christmas for….. Or spending time with a child from a broken home….. Or going to the nursing home and spending time with those who have no one…..or reading to someone that is blind….How about adopting a pet from the animal shelter that needs loving….or cooking special goodies for our law enforcement and fire fighters or EMT people?  Or be a chemo angel for someone going through chemo.

There are many ways to show someone what it is like to be loved. Don’t make it a one time effort. Make it part of life. Love is free and we should be sharing it around this world and making a difference. Love can heal when nothing else does.