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Ever since I was a very little girl, I’ve had a favorite holiday– Christmas. I’ve blogged about it dozens of times. However, for me anyway, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas if Thanksgiving didn’t give it a kick-off. On this day, every year, as we enjoy the bounty that the Lord has provided for us, I’m often humbled.
We have delicious food– lots of it. Heaping bowls of mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, rolls, pies, and of course, our family favorite, Hungarian Coffee Cake. It’s a reminder, using all the senses, that we’re so very blessed. The dishes, dirty counters, filthy floors, and cluttered house are a testimony to just how much we have to be thankful for– and to share. I sit here, exhausted after scrubbing up after cooking up a storm, and dinner isn’t for four more hours! The house is still a mess, the counters covered with more dirty dishes than the sink and the dishwasher could handle, papers on my living room floor from the couple of hundred of newspapers that my children delivered this morning. The table is loaded with books for me to ship and Lorna’s doll house. There’s laundry to fold, and well, we need to do some work in here– and this is only what I can see from my chair!
After I’ve rested, I plan to get up, clean up the room, and then take a shower. We’ll eat, play a game or three, watch a movie, listen to music, and in the middle of that, we’ll probably start putting up the Christmas village. I love this time of year!
This year, Thanksgiving is extra special to me. In my NaNo Novel, I’m writing about the future– 2125 to be exact, and a woman from 2009 who was abducted there. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter… they all don’t exist anymore and watching my character try to recreate the holidays that meant so much to her is really giving me a fresh appreciation of them for me. I’m seeing everything in a new light. The food just isn’t empty calories or worn-out traditions. The abundance of food represents the abundance of our blessings in this country, in our homes, and in our lives. I know the argument can be made that people over-indulge to the point of gluttony on this day. This is, most definitely possible. However, regardless of the veracity of that assertion in an individual’s life, the fact is, it’s hard to over-indulge when you have nothing with which to do it! It’s still a testimony to the goodness of God.
Tomorrow, this day will be a memory– one more year of feeling thankful for what the Lord has done in my life. Today, however, I’m going to live it. This week alone had so many things for me to be thankful for.
Monday– Lunch out with dear friends. Every time I publish a book, Teresa, Glenda, and I go to Nicoletti’s Cafe and have a ’signing’.
Tuesday– My Nolan. He turned fifteen this year. Also, my new teeth. They’re going to be so amazing! I can’t wait.
Wednesday– My husband and I ‘celebrated’ (by existing in a continual state of marital happiness) our twenty-first anniversary.
Thursday– A lovely meal with my wonderful family.
Friday– Black Friday sales, decking our home for Christmas, and this year, a ‘write-in’ for NaNoWriMo.
Saturday– … I can’t imagine what it’ll be, but it’ll be amazing.
Sunday– The Lord is good, I am thankful, and it’ll be another wonderful Lord’s day.
Step One
The first thing that a mother (who has been negligent in training her children) must do is to confess her failings. She needs to confess this to herself, to her Lord, to her husband, and finally to her children. If necessary, if you are concerned that you will slip back into lazy ways again, you must find someone else, outside of your family that your husband is comfortable with, for you to be accountable. Someone who will not be afraid to ask the tough questions that you need to have asked.
Humbling yourself is hard. It is one of the hardest things that a mother can do. However, if you cannot do this first thing sincerely, then honestly, you will not continue to grow as a mother. You will continue to operate in the lackadaisical manner that brought you to read an article like this in the first place.
So, do it already!
Step Two
BITE SIZED PIECES. You cannot overhaul your entire life overnight. If you could, it would not be healthy! Imagine what would happen if someone who was 200 lbs overweight decided to lose it all in a month… and DID. The results could be fatal! The same goes for trying to become someone else overnight. It will not work and the failure that you will feel will make it less likely for you to try again.
What does this mean in practical terms? Pick one area and master it. Sometimes as you master one thing, another naturally comes along. That is fine. Do not fight a natural progression. But, for the most part, it’s best to simply find the area that you know is your weakest and fight it with all of your might. Study scriptures to encourage you. Train yourself to fight your tendency to give in. If you need to learn to not let the phone rule your day, then PRACTICE. If you need to get up before the children get up, then GET UP. Do it one day. The next day, you can do it for THAT day… until finally it is a habit and voila!
If you try to change your tone, get up for each infraction, limit your computer time, have a daily quiet time, do school diligently, train the toddler in one thing a day, and have their meals made of whole foods tomorrow… you’ll quit before noon.
Step Three
Give yourself freedom to fail. “WHAT”. I can hear you now. “FAIL”, I cannot fail! You can, you will, and you need to be prepared. Handle it with grace. “I knew this was going to happen. I do not have to let it characterize my life. I can simply repent, confess, and turn away from the sin of … fill in the blank. STOP expecting perfection from you, your children, your husband… only the Lord has the right to expect perfection from us and even HE says that ALL have sinned!
When you fail, stop. Do not continue in your failure. Think of it like a diet. Your diet allowed two cookies for a treat on Friday night. You are on your fifth. There are two options open to you. You can wallow in your ‘failure’ or you can stop. Realize you ate too many and repent! Put the bag of cookies away. Give them away. Throw them away. But for heaven’s sake, you don’t have to wallow in it.
Step Four
Take good care of yourself. I hear it again! “WHAT!” Trust me, I mean it. Get plenty of rest. Eat good food with liberal amounts of chocolate during certain times of the month. Take a walk around the block when hubby walks in the door. Do your hair, wear something that makes you feel happy, and if you wear cosmetics on a regular basis, GET EM ON!
Step Five
Learn to smile at your children. Learn to look into their eyes and really ’see’ them. Touch their hearts… and let them touch yours. Deeply. Do not let your work around the house create haste in your interaction with your children. They need vast quantities of your time. Quality time IS quantity time. Make sure that your relationship with your children is genuine, loving, and second only to your relationships with the Lord and your husband… and make sure they KNOW it. Do not just let them ‘hear it’… make sure they know it!
Step Six
Begin Children’s boot camp. Work through it systematically. Remember, your children are your most important job right now. Forget outside ministries… they ARE your ministry. Forget hobbies… they ARE your hobby. If they are fairly well trained and need brush ups, don’t force them through more boot camp than they need. BUT, if they seem reluctant, slow, or frankly resistant… commit yourself to the ‘full deal’.
Step Seven
Review each of the steps above on a fairly regular basis. If you are brave, ask your children if they think that they are important to you. Ask them if they see you putting them before outsiders. Ask them if they think you spend too much time sewing, reading, writing, crafting, on the computer or on the phone. Ask your husband how he thinks you are doing. Ask the Lord. Sit before him and ask Him. “Am I being negligent in this area? That one? Please bring to my remembrance anything that I should confess and repent of.” I assure you that it is a painful but eye opening thing to remember shushing a child to answer a phone call from your friend. (Caller ID is a good and bad thing both!)
In all of this, you’ll find interruptions, road blocks and frustration. How you handle these things shows what your character is. If you don’t like what you see, giving up just lets the flaws in your character to win! Don’t let them win! Change what you don’t like. If you got impatient, calm down and try again. My children have heard me say, “I don’t like how I sounded right now. Let’s rewind” and then I go on to say things how I should have. Do it!
I’ll end with this quote from Annie Keary that I found in a book by Elisabeth Elliot “Keep a Quiet Heart”.
“I think I find most help in trying to look on all interruptions and hindrances to work that one has planned out for oneself as discipline; trials sent by God to help one against getting selfish over one’s work. Then one can feel that perhaps one’s true work, one’s work for God, consists in doing some trifling, haphazard thing that has been thrown into one’s day.”
Personal note: Please do not allow occasional lapses in diligence to override you with guilt. We all have bad days. We all have weaker areas. Just do not let your weak areas or bad days turn into habitual abandonment of your job as a mother. A perfect example would be medicine that you are supposed to take at regular intervals. Often, the bottle will tell you that if you forget to take it, take it as quickly as possible. If you are close to your next dose, skip that dose and do not forget again. This is how we should view our ‘hiccoughs’ in parenting. Try to view them as a bump in the road, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep on going!
With all of the wonders and delights that surrounded our wedding preparations, there was a small cloud that hung over us like mini thunderheads. Only our immediate family (husband and children) would be at this wedding. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins… they were all too far away or too busy to be able to come. While we understand the limitations that Alzheimers and the rising cost of gas brings, it was still a difficult thing to realize that there would be no extended family to help us celebrate.
The groom’s family is great and extended. He had aunts, uncles, all seven siblings and most of their families and even his sister-in-law’s mother came! For a short while, as I watched the photographs being taken, I was disappointed to realize that our family wasn’t here to share in that special day. I understood… and still do. It wasn’t some kind of slight against us to be taken personally. And I didn’t. But, none-the-less, it did hurt to think that she was not surrounded by the family we love so dearly and see so rarely.
I’d been teased for months about whether or not I’d cry. I came the closest I thought I’d come when Kevin walked her down the aisle at the rehearsal, Lorna perched on his arm just as Challice had perched on my father’s arm as he led me down the aisle just over 17 years ago. I did get quite a large lump in my throat but tears had no intentions of falling.
The wedding was delightful and I laughed so hard at Pastor Neipp’s impromptu shotgun, that I should have cried! The day rolled on and many blessings flowed in so many other ways. I’ll be blogging about those later.
Then, the next day, as I tried to edit pictures from the four days of preparation it began to sink in. I looked at picture after picture after picture and my throat swelled. I saw Wendy and Kristy there with Wendy’s children. They’d travelled from Idaho, rested overnight and then came to my house the next day with sleeves rolled up ready to work and with their merry hats on. It was so nice to finally meet her.
Dell and her family with their cheerful smiles and sweet faces shone back as I scrolled through picture after picture. They drove over 1000 miles to get here. I’ve known Dell for over 5 years online… but finally got to meet her at this wedding.
Ahh… Kiersten. My dear Kirky. She flew from Kansas to work tirelessly to help this wedding be all it could be. I’ve never met her before either. She’s a dear sister though, and her contribution to the success of this wedding can be seen in every lovely picture so painstakenly taken.
There was Dawn and her family. I’ve only met her twice before, and for just a few hours, but she was there, driving me for more icing, frosting cakes, decorating tables and brightening the room with her endearing smile.
Amanda came with her two children. It was like she hadn’t been gone for a year and a few months since her last visit. She chattered and delighted us with her amusing stories as she whisked all the little disorderlies into perfect order. I’ve only met her twice before as well but she was predictably helpful and I dont’ know what we’d have done without her.
Adrienne shopped, and went for flowers, and ran errands, and in general, made sure that all the little details weren’t forgotten in the grand scheme of big things. I cannot tell you how thankful I am for that.
Our local friends worked hard as well, and other online friends drove up and spent precious time from family and gas dollars and motel dollars to be here.
As I went through all the pictures and saw the great extended Neipp family, I was blessed. As I remembered the photographer trying to make me understand that she wanted aunts and uncles and cousins… and me trying just as hard to make her understand that I DID understand but there just weren’t any… I was sad. And then I got to the pictures of all the work these dear ladies did. The local ‘aunties’ who stepped up to the plate and made potato salad, and loaned dishes, and shopped, and made flowers for cakes and cleaned and… oh boy they worked hard. I’m so thankful.
As I look at the lovely ladies I’ve known for years but just got to meet, I cried. It was beautiful, and they worked so hard. Never having met us, they put their time, money, and elbow grease on the line so we could have this marvelous day. It is because of them that I wasn’t stressed the day of the wedding. They took that burden on their shoulders.
Our family couldn’t come to this wedding… but our family was here. I am so blessed and thankful. Words cannot express my gratitude to my dear sisters.
Our family is finally recouperating from the delightfully exhausting ordeal known as a wedding. Yes, my eldest daughter is the domestic despot of her own realm. But that is a bit off topic from my intended ramblings.
We’ve all heard horror tales of Bridezillas or worse, their interfering mothers. I was determined not to be such a mother myself, and certainly didn’t want my daughter to look back on her wedding preps with shame.
I did make one fatal flaw, however, and the result was less than satisfactory. You see, my wedding was a fiasco from the moment I said I’d marry Kevin. This is because I was young, stupid, and eager to ask for help. That combination is a recipe for lack of discretion in WHO I asked. I’ll never forget going to the only person I knew that’d had a wedding in the past 5 years and saying, “How do I do this?”
A whirlwind rush of plans flowed before my brain could register that she’d begun to speak. “Well I’ll be your matron of honor, my husband can be the best man, my daughter can be your flower girl, my son can be your ring bearer… then Kevin’s brother can be a groomsman… does he have another friend he wants…”
The rest of the wedding planning went like that until 2 weeks before when I snapped. I countermanded a few of her decisions and the result was ugly. I vowed to never let my girls be put in that position.
When Challice got engaged, I realized, now was the time. This was HER wedding and we were going to have this thing how SHE and her fiancee wanted it to be. As a general rule, I see some wisdom in that. After all, if they wanted a morning wedding, insisting that they do it in the evening would have been disrespectful and would have likely caused much friction. Had they wanted peach and seafoam for colors, while they aren’t my favorites, there wouldn’t have been a reason to argue the idea.
However, in my zeal to avoid the mistakes of MY past, I created a few in this little shindig. It was nothign serious, and fortunately no lasting damage to any relationships appears to have been done. But I learned a few things that I’d like to share with future brides and mothers of the bride.
1. The parents, if they are paying for the affair, are the hosts. They are the ones to whom the ’success’ of the affair reflects. If the comfort of the guests is compromised by a decision by the Bride and Groom, they cannot assume blame and go merrily on their way. The parents will be held responsible and it is wise for the bride and groom to remember that when making requests.
2. Sometimes, the least expensive route costs everyone more. Trying to save parents money is an admirable goal. Not everyone can afford to create a lavish wedding and keeping the tab down is one way of showing respect for your parents. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that David and Challice did not ask for or expect a many thousand dollar affair. However, some of the things that they opted to do without, in the end, cost us more in time and trouble and even a few dollars than had they asked if avoiding the things would help.
3. Weddings are not just about the Bride and Groom. This was a hard lesson for me. I always thought that the attitude that the wedding was the ‘bride’s day’ was a terribly self-centered idea. I truly believed that it was “THEIR” day and that they should have things exactly how they wanted them, assuming the parents can afford it. I now believe I was wrong. The wedding is about uniting two families and in the process, creating three. It is a uniting and a dividing at the same time. Everyone’s comforts, and considerations (within reason of course) really should be considered. In my extreme zeal to ensure that they had THEIR day… I actually encouraged a bit of selfishness in two of the most unselfish people I’ve ever met. I was wrong, but I’ve learned my lesson.
4. The Bride is still under her father’s authority until he gives her at the ceremony. I knew this in my head, but a few practical situations drove it home. We so often deferred to the Bride and Groom’s wishes that for a time it felt as if Challice was under David’s authority rather than ours. This wasn’t true and it wasn’t THEIR attitude that caused this situation, but it did teach me to be careful how we did things in the future. A less mature and respectful man would likely have taken advantage of the situation.
5. The things that go wrong will often be some of the best parts of the whole thing. I cannot tell you how many little things I had to just let go. The lace of the gown had to be patched. Oh well… it became symbolic. That was so neat! The bridesmaids dresses went through so many redos and revisions it became funny.
The cakes were frosted with too soft frosting and didn’t look professional. All the work our dear Lisa did to make those beautiful flowers… and she had to put them willy nilly on lopsided and crumbly cakes. But you knwo what… those cakes make me smile. My daughter’s wedding cakes were decorated by friends and siblings. Nolan decorated one by himself. That memory is worth so much more than a picture of a perfect ‘bakery’ cake. The memory of me baking batch after batch after batch is more endearing to all of us than just having some frothy confection arrive at the reception hall. I’m not saying we’ll NEVER have a cake like that… but this time, it’s special.
The programs were printed 1.5 hours before the wedding on our laser printer. Our friend typed it up and in the process, somehow married off our second daughter. She was listed as MATRON of honor. Oh well. It’s one of those funny things that means a lot in the end. It’s a memory. A dear enchanting memory of fun and laughter.
My natural tendency is to let things like this really bother me. I have a deep desire and sometimes NEED for perfection. Somehow, in all of this, I managed to let that go and instead, strive for a memory.
I think I succeeded too. As Kevin and I drove to church to dress Lorna and start the final prep… I turned to him and said (greatly surprised too!) “I’m not stressed! How is it that I’m not stressed. Busy, yes… but not stressed.”
So, I did. I learned a lot. Our next wedding, should I be the financier, will definitely have some changes… this was a learning experience. But most of those are things that will change because I will have changed, not because Challice and David were so terribly unreasonable. They were gracious, thankful, and David’s final words were… “You’ve exceeded our expectations. Everything was lovely.”
I pray that life will be as warm and rich for them as this beginning of their life together was.
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1. Send a servant (What?? You don’t have servants? You should get some – all the best Biblical people had servants) to pick up a girl at the well (a bar would probably be the modern equivalent. Make sure that you and the girl have stomachs or you are starting your marriage off on a VERY bad theological premise. Check the rules regarding wine consumption if you do not understand) 2. Indenture yourself to a man for seven years of work in exchange for his daughter. If he gives you the wrong one, (and really, even if you changeyour mind) repeat the process until you get the wife you want. This one has the advantage of disqualifying you from the responsibilities of ever being a deacon or elder. Those who do not like responsibility should chose this option. 3. Wait until the women are outside working in their yards and go kidnap a few. You may have to kill their husbands if they get in the way.
4. Ask God to make one for you. In spite of the promising start, this one turned out badly for Adam and had terrible and long-lasting consequences.
5. Marry your half/step-sister. Use her as protection when you are in a precarious political and personal situation. Women, don’t forget to call him “Lord” anyway. This one is perfect for efficiency experts. You can be your own maid of honor as well as bride. You also, once the ceremony is complete, can be the matron of honor thus filling three positions at once, and by yourself.
However, meeting a nice guy, taking him home to family, getting to know him and becoming a good friend then marrying him as the love of your life is anti-biblical and prohibited. Do not do this.
Cathe has received 3 extra jewels in her crown for the excellent topic du jour. |
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This year I decided to be a ‘good mom’ and let my children make our Christmas cards. (and thereby forcing myself to mail them after all of their hard work!)
We had a blast!
“Ingredients” White Card Stock “Tearable paper” (onion skin stuff from your scrapbooking aisle) Markers Stickers Die cuts Scissors Rubber Stamps Notion scraps Glue and Gluesticks Glitter pens…
The options are limitless I assure you!
Cut the paper in half, and fold those in half again. Let the kids ‘have at it’. They can do whatever they want with one outside part but cannot touch the other ’sides’. Designate yourself or one child for the official ’stamper’. Put a rubber stamped message on the inside.
I intend to mail with a ‘newsy’letter written like a newspaper and prayerfully pictures of the dahlinks.
Isn’t it mahvelous??? (picture removed) To those who have seen pictures of our tree in our living room… the tree stands where this piano was! I made an evil bargain with our piano tuner! He wanted to do some repair work on the keys and I told him I’d go for it only if he’d move the piano for the month of December and not bring it back until January. He hadn’t planned on moving the piano to do the work but I guess he wanted the work badly enough because he arrived the Monday before Thanksgiving and drove off with it. WAHOO! First year in AGES that we haven’t had to close off our Living room Closet for our tree. |
Thanksgiving day was a delight. We woke up to a still frozen turkey. Four days wasn’t enough to get that sucker defrosted. (Ok, it was still frozen yesterday so a full WEEK wasn’t enough!) So, off I went to Albertsons for a defrosted turkey. Twenty-five dollars later I had a nice big turkey. This brought up frustrations and irritations that taught me a lesson.
When I buy chicken, I generally get it for .79 or .89 a lb but will pay up to 1.29 without complaint. I pay 1.99 for chicken chests and on a rare occasion, if I’m desperate, I’ll pay 2.49. (Rare though) I am THRILLEd when I get pork chops or beef for under 1.50-2.00 a lb. Now. Tell me here. Why was I pitching fits about 1.29 a lb. for turkey? On any other meat I’d consider that a reasonable price! Just because the first turkey was .33 a lb is no reason to get my knickers in a wad over 1.29. For almost ANY other meat, that is a perfectly acceptable price. I really need to get a grip. So, my lesson was to take everything in context, and not to be ‘anxious’ over that which isn’t important. Like the price of turkey.
We had so much fun on Thanksgiving. We did puzzles, played games, and built the US Capitol. To say that the dome is not what it once was, is probably an understatement but it is up, finished, and that is enough for me. Thank you very much. 
Oh… and we did get our gingerbread family cut out and ready to paint for our Christmas yard ornaments!
Friday morning found us at the stores before dawn so I can’t say it ‘dawned early’. Kevin went off to Staples and Walmart (where a local pair of teens spent the NIGHT) while Morgann and I went to Mervyns and K-mart. We managed to fill our baskets with the things we’d hoped for and it was so funny to see the differences in our experiences. The line at Walmart went on ‘forever’. Morgann and I were near the front at K-mart and there weren’t THAT many behind us. The people at Walmart were pushing and ugly near the front (but not near Kevin) while we had to INSIST that people go ahead of us. Amazing.
Home we came and began the fun of decorating for Christmas. I tore apart the fall wreath and redecorated it for Christmas.
I set up the mangers (who managed to make it through the great Flood of 2005) and the candles on the table (Picture forthcoming) We bought our tree, we painted our gingerbread men and Kevin even built a frame to hold them. Life is grand.
Friday evening, Kevin put up the lights on the tree and everything was perfect. We popped corn, strung strings of cranberries and popcorn and then did the official ‘trimming of the tree’. It was SOOOOOOOOOOo much fun. We sang Carols and Hymns and generally had a GREAT time. I love this time of year!
Saturday I wrapped presents, cleaned house, and prepared to have our guests on Sunday. It was most definitely a BLAST.
This month is one of my favorites. The music, the laughter, the little traditions, the family and the joy. All of it is just so exciting to me. I love it. All of it.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I am eager to start the ‘festivities’. I can’t wait to start the turkey, make breakfast, start the games and puzzles… oh it’s so exciting!! ( I said that already eh?)
Tomorrow I also make our shopping list. The day after Thanksgiving sales are a tradition. Our children find them SOOOOOo much fun so we brave the cold and go for it!
Oh… and tree skirt. In the GREAT FLOOD of 2005, we lost all Christmas decorations/ornaments/etc. This means stockings and tree skirt. I am making a GREAT tree skirt.
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I am so excited. I love Thanksgiving. I love the warmth of a house laden with the delicious smells of an Autumn feast, the lazy day of games and puzzles, and the anticipation of the following days.
Thanksgiving reminds us of all that we have been blessed with and are so very thankful for… but, it is also a time of anticipation. Because we know, that tomorrow is another day and the beginning of a very special season.
Many people don’t like Christmas. They feel that Christmas is a time of hypocricy and pretention. They may be right. I understand the complaints that people are generous and loving for six weeks and then go back to being their self-centered selves. It is frustrating perhaps. But how much worse would it be if people were NEVER loving and giving. IF people never smiled at one another as they hustled through their afternoon’s worth of shopping.
The song “Silver Bells” is my very favorite Christmas ’song’. (Carols are another story!). I love the way the song helps you FEEL the ‘air of Christmas’. You can sense the anticipation of the shoppers, hear the clink of change in the Salvation Army bucket, and the scent of cinnamon and peppermint permeates the air. People smile as they see children’s faces pressed to the window display at stores, or sitting on Santa’s lap.
You know, my children have never sat on Santa’s lap and as far as I know, I did only once. My picture of that day is hysterical. My smile was absolutely side-splitting. In spite of this lack of childhood rite, I have very happy children who get a kick out of seeing other children sit on Santa’s lap. The children’s faces are happy and eager. I may be an optimistic blind woman but I don’t think it is solely because they want to demand this year’s ‘loot’. I think the whole tradition is beautiful and fun for all who choose to partake in it.
I remember shopping in the Esplanade in Oxnard California with my friend Marianne. We could hear the shrieks half way across the mall. Some child was NOT happy about their visit on Santa’s lap. As we drew nearer, the shrieks grew louder and more terrified. I turned to my friend and wondered why the child was so terrified. Her response is one I’ll NEVER forget.
“How would you feel if you were plucked from your mom’s arms, plunked down on this strange fat man’s lap with hair in his face and an idiot expression in his eyes and he’s incapable of saying anything more intelligent than ‘ho ho ho’. Some idiotic girl is standing with a huge camera just a few feet away and squeezing the h*ll out of a duck!”
Giggle. It was funny then, and I still chuckle now. So of course, these memories are not always a blessing for everyone!
Where was I? Oh, Thanksgiving. Our Christmas holidays begin then. I can’t wait to share our Christmas traditions but for now, I’ll start with thanksgiving.
The next few days I’ll be grocery shopping in small spurts. Almost European style…. enough food for every day as I can. This allows me to buy one turkey a day at the extra reduced price. These I give to my friend and her family eats them year round. (We have permission from the local store to do this btw).
The Wednesday before thanksgiving, I’ll be making peppermint bark and Hungarian coffeecakes. These I’ll pass around to friends and save for our family.
Thanksgiving morning we’ll start the turkey, and start the fun. Games, reading, music, working on the yard decorations for the next day… it all has it’s proper place.
For dinner we’ll eat Turkey Green Beans Cranberry sauce Cornbread stuffing Rolls Pumpkin Pie and gravy of course.
Then we’ll munch on Hungarian Coffee cake and probably watch a movie. We are so blessed. I am so very thankful. |
Rosy Lorna has chosen to walk rather than crawl most of the time. She’s quite comical about her little steps. She thinks she’s ’something’ and expects us to agree.
Dancing. She’s been dancing for months now. For at least two-three months she’d sand up in the middle of the floor and bee bop without moving a foot. Put on the themesong to MacGyver and she’ll bop all over the spot. (She dances like papa… doens’t move a foot you know). Both computers have MacGyver on it. Anytime she looks bored, forlorn, or cranky, one of the kids will start it playing and voila. Happy Lorna.
I am learning lessons from her that I never took the time to learn from her siblings. She wasn’t in a rush to do it just because she could. She also delights in her abilities. She loves that she can walk and she does it. She enjoys every little step. She thrives on the attention we lavish upon her and yet doesn’t seem to take it for granted.
How I wish that I was as eager to enjoy what I do, when I do it, and without the encumberances of a lifetime of repetitions that tempt me to be less than grateful. Yesterday I was working on a new book idea. The main character has spent a year in prison before being acquitted of the crime. Once home, she eagerly brings the trash can to the curb. She finds scrubbing a toilet that has only her germs rewarding. Washing a floor that has only had her feet on it is so nice compared to the filth she scrubbed while locked away.
Why do we not try to remember that each day here on earth is a gift, and each day here on earth is one day closer to a life we can’t comprehend? I must daily remind myself of so many things.
“His mercies are new every morning.”
“Today is fresh, with no mistakes in it… yet.”
“Today is the first day of the rest of my life.”
… so many things. I’m sick. I feel sick. I hate coughing, I am so tired of coughing. BUt you know what? I am alive. My children HAVE a mother. Some don’t. My husband has a wife (even though he might not feel like it right now.) some men don’t. I have access to health care, good food, and a comfortable bed. Many would love those things. I am not likely to die of this cold/cough. Can the rest of the world be so confident?
Gratitude and Joy. They go hand in hand don’t they? Appreciate the little things and rejoice in all things.
