Goodbye 2013

Tags

2013, Close To My Heart, Creative Memories, family, NaBloPoMo

2013 has been a rough year for many of us. In our own small circle there have been way too many deaths, especially of young people. Too many job layoffs, especially again among young people. Our dollars aren’t stretching as far as they used to, and fewer of them are coming in. I caught myself rejoicing a couple of weeks ago because gasoline had dropped to $3.27 per gallon…then I remembered with amazement when I rolled my room mate’s Volkswagen back in 1969 and “wasted” a tankful of expensive Paso Robles gas (for which I had paid $.27 per gallon), and walked away unhurt! After ten years as a Creative Memories Consultant, I watched that beloved company file bankruptcy and mutate into an unrecognizable entity, and I sadly said goodbye.

Some wonderful things happened this year, too, though. We had two baby boy cousins born in the spring, and our baby girl cousin turned one year old. Olivia started preschool in the fall, and Lily began dance lessons. Now that they are older, their grandfather is spending more time with them, which is good for everyone involved. My children and their significant others were here under one roof for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the joy of being together was indescribable. Two very precious young people were finally married. I’m just beginning a new business as an Independent Consultant with Close To My Heart, and will continue to teach the importance of family storytelling.

And thanks to NaBloPoMo’s November and December challenges, my very catch-as-catch-can blogging has become a daily event. Very soul-satisfying to this word-loving grandmother!

I’m writing earlier than usual this evening, so that I can spend time with Olivia and Lily as they “stay up for New Year’s Eve”. We will share popcorn and sparkling cider while watching television in our jammies. I brought home a bag filled with their Great Grammy Pender’s vintage noise-makers, so they can make a lovely racket outside at midnight. We will say “Goodbye 2013” together, and look with hope to a fresh, new 2014.

Happy New Year to all!

A good man

Tags

confidante, death, friendship, Greatest Generation, grief

My Daddy’s best friend died yesterday. He was a good man…a family man…truly one of the Greatest Generation. He believed in the goodness of people, that a man’s word stood for something, and that family was all-important. His quiet demeanor covered a delightful sense of humor, and he was the first to laugh at himself over a silly event.

At Mom’s memorial service, he sat at the back of the church next to Daddy, not willing to let his long-time friend sit alone (the rest of the family was in the middle of things). Although his own health was not good, it was his wife he was concerned about when he and Daddy talked last weekend.

I didn’t meet him until junior high, but they had been colleagues and friends for many years before that. When they retired, they went out together. The rest of the guys died along the way…victims of stressful jobs…they were the two who survived 30 years past retirement.

I am sad for his widow, daughters, son, and grandchildren. Life will be very different without him. But I am sad for Daddy, too, without his confidante — the one who was witness to so many of his work experiences, shared so many everyday moments — his friend for over half a century.

Andy, thank you for being such a good friend to my Daddy. You will be missed.

Research, read, and ruminate

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Close To My Heart, Pinterest, webinars, WordPress.com

Today was a research and read day. It started out with an hour webinar on using Pinterest as a way to drive small business. Very intriguing, although when I started “playing” with my page I became very frustrated. Somehow even the easy solutions are considerably less easy when I try them!

And I spent quite a bit of time reading my way around both WordPress.com and Close To My Heart. My blog has 630 followers now (glory be!) and I would love to be able to WOW them. Also frustrating. Somehow there is one little connection I am failing to make (or something similar) in order for the operations to work correctly. I know, operator error.

I haven’t given up on making everything beautiful and more useful than it is now. I just need to give my brain-dead body a rest and try again later.

Sweet dreams, everyone.

In the doldrums

Tags

doldrums, inactivity, slump

Doldrums (n.): A period of stagnation or slump, inactivity.

That’s where I am today: in the doldrums. I accomplished very little but laundry, dishes, and video games. I did venture out to Joann’s Fabrics for their “70% off, then another 30% off that” post-Christmas sale, where I found lights and so on for next year at ridiculously low prices. But that’s it.

Tomorrow will be better. Sweet dreams.

The third day of Christmas

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Boxing Day, Christmas, Epiphany, Mary the mother of Jesus, The Twelve Days of Christmas, three French hens

If the old carol held true, I should have received “three French hens, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree” today, on this third day of Christmas. But no, there were no hens delivered today, French or otherwise, or any other feathery friends. Christmas Day was glorious, yesterday (Boxing Day in the UK and Canada) went by in a blur, and today was mostly blah.

Today we tripped over teeny tiny toys in the living room, took the extra leaf out of the kitchen table, and said a wistful goodbye to my son and daughter-in-love. The post-Christmas laundry was stacking up and the clothes both girls received as gifts needed putting away. In other words, it was an ordinary day…although made less ordinary by the still-beautiful (artificial) tree and Christmas cards on display.

I will quietly celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas through Epiphany (January 6), also known as “Armenian Christmas”, and think about the “gift of the day” each day as I enjoy Mom’s favorite carol. This Sunday evening will include “lessons and carols” at church…probably my favorite service each year. I never tire of the traditional Christmas hymns, and of singing each and every verse.

Remembering with joy “the reason for the season”, I hope to follow Mary’s example and “treasure these words and ponder them in [my] heart”. May God bring you peace throughout this Christmas season, and always.

A soul-satisfying day

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blessings, Christmas, Christmas traditions, contentment, family

This has been a soul-satisfying day. We wrapped presents, talked, giggled, and loved on each other from slightly past midnight until 3:30 a.m., finishing just in time for Santa’s arrival. What we thought might be a rather “skinny” Christmas ended up being more than abundant. The tree was perfect, the presents piled high, and the love in the room was palpable. I cannot express the joy of having both my children and their beloveds here with me.

As the girls unwrapped their presents, the house was overrun by My Little Ponies and LaLaLoopsies…just exactly what they wanted…the smiles, the laughter, the thanks lit up the room. At brunch we shared our Christmas crackers (thank you, Claire, for introducing us to this tradition years ago), wore our silly crowns, shared the bad jokes, and played with the little toys. The food was simple but tasty, the mimosas delicious. And don’t get me started on the fudge!

All day long the girls played together with their new toys, with only minor squabbles over territory. The grown-ups segued from conversation to nap to conversation (our night was way too short), punctuated with trips to the kitchen for more fudge. Phone conversations with loved ones from afar made the day even better.

We are so blessed. Blessed by love based on deep friendship as well as blood ties. Blessed that our loved ones are out of harm’s way. Blessed by the Christmas traditions passed down through our families for generations. Blessed that we have ample food and a cozy nest, even in today’s challenging job market. Blessed to live in what I still feel is the greatest country in the world, even though our stars are a bit tarnished by human greed and strife. Blessed that those of us who truly believe Christ is “the reason for the season” can live and love with those who think differently in relationships of mutual respect.

Merry Christmas, dear friends…I hope you, too, had a soul-satisfying day.

Luke 2:10-20

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Bethlehem, Christmas blessings, the birth of Jesus, The Gospel according to Luke

…But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see–I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people; to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”

So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. [Luke 2:10-20]

Blessings to you this Christmas, and always.

An old student

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Christmas shopping, farm workers, high school, junior high, students

Today I saw one of my former junior high school students while Christmas shopping. I recognized his sister first, then his mother, then my student following behind. They were moving purposefully and I was standing in line for the register, so they didn’t see me and there was no opportunity to chat.

My former student should be a high school senior this year if he is still in school. He is strikingly handsome in that debonaire way of so many Latino young men. He was holding hands with a beautiful teenaged girl as they lagged behind his mother. How long will it be before they are parents?

I wonder what is happening in his life. A reluctant student in junior high, his main goal was to hang out with the “cool” crowd…instead, he tagged along behind the cool guys like a small puppy. He was beginning to mess with pot and alcohol, trying to impress them. By the end of eighth grade he was starting to make some progress with reading, but didn’t want to admit it. I hope high school and his desperate need to fit in didn’t overwhelm him.

In our valley there are so many boys like this…farm workers’ children whose parents have high hopes for them but few resources to help them achieve them. Each one takes a bit of my heart with him.

Christmas adventures

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"The Grinch House", CA., Christmas lights, Visalia

Tonight’s Christmas adventure was another tour around Visalia looking at Christmas lights. One house in particular, known as “The Grinch House” was our destination. When we got there we found an amazing array of lights, figures, and ornaments, nearly obscured by the mob of cars and people gaping in front of it. We did two slow passes down the street and then went on our way.

We drove for nearly an hour, turning down random streets, drawn by lights ahead or memories of past years. Of course, the little one often missed individual items in the various displays, and wailed, “I didn’t see that one!” Sometimes we doubled back, sometimes she just had to let it go. Some houses were over-the-top ostentatious, some were simply beautiful. We loved them all (except for the gingerbread house with Santa popping out of it…the girls decided it was “creepy”). And we will go out at least once more before Christmas. Oak Ranch is still waiting.

“Wildwood”

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"Wildwood", Drusilla Campbell, Fresno State Bulldogs football, reading, Sparkles the Elf

As a bonus this year, my sister tucked a few freshly read books into my Christmas box (we regularly mail books back and forth across the country).  “Wildwood” caught my eye first off because the author was named Drusilla — as was our maternal great-grandmother.  I can’t remember the last time I saw Drusilla in print outside of my genealogy charts.

I started reading Drusilla Campbell’s “Wildwood” this morning while the rest of the household slept.  There are few things more delicious than reading curled up on the couch, wrapped in a cozy throw, with my thermal cup of Mango Ceylon tea steaming beside me.

I continued reading as the girls both woke up and began their search for Sparkles, our Elf, who was hanging out of the back pocket of Lily’s backpack.

After a brief break to fix breakfast, my nose went back into the story of three women who had been friends since girlhood, as they tiptoed around the recognition of an event thirty years in their past.  I was captivated by their negotiated friendships…the things they acknowledged, the truths they ignored.

The story carried me through a lousy bowl game loss by my beloved Fresno State Bulldogs (although I only read during commercials) and two re-runs of “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.

And then it was done.  I was exhausted, but left wanting to know more.  What did the future hold for Hannah, Liz, and Jeanne.  Would their marriages survive?

I hope Drusilla Campbell writes a sequel.