Rain or Snow

On this very naturally wet and gray day with the electronic fireplace ‘burning’,

wrapped in sweaters, slippers and blankets

I am warm, cosy and content.

On a very naturally cold and snowy day with the smoky aroma of a ‘real’ fireplace burning,

wrapped in sweaters, slippers and blankets

I was also warm, cosy and content……

Whether here or there,

Today or in a far off yesteryear,

there is great wisdom in keeping to 

winter warmth, cosiness and being content.

“Appreciating what I have is my medicine.”

~ Betty Jamie Chung, Phd., Author of Life Recipes from My Mother

With Only

With only a few words,

whispered or spoken softly,

wisdom floats heart to heart.

With only a deep breath,

our attitudes soften

while beliefs grow strong.

With only a single step

our path stretches before us.

Wisdom shows us the way.

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned 

so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

~ Joseph Campbell

Kernels of Wisdom

Now just in case anyone thought last night’s blog post (Christmas Past) was kind of corny, you are not wrong. I watched a lot of kind of corny Christmas movies in the past couple of days. The words came to me just in that order, with a bit of an edit, but just drifted onto my keyboard. But at the same time, I believed what I wrote. There is a lot to this life that is corny. The corny stuff gets set aside, sometimes pushed aside as insignificant and unworthy of our attention. But it is no more insignificant than the bit of salt that seasons our food. So corny or not, I’ll probably keep finding such bits of wisdom in my writings and hope that they never get too corny.

“Salt is truly useful when it is used usefully, 

so are dexterity, wisdom and understanding!”

~ Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

Christmas Past

To let go of Christmas cheer

is to put away 

bright baubles, 

decorations that sparkle,

lights that twinkle 

and bells that ring

while still carrying 

the giving spirit of Christmas 

into each day to come

with wisdom and kindness.

“…simply an honest spirit of love for all humanity. 

It is the force that moves us to give what we can, 

to help as we are able, and to always be of kind comfort.”

~ Richelle E. Goodrich, Slaying Dragons

My Christmas Experiment

It was a success. And I’m stuffed and maybe a little bit wiser. Today was all about food and at the same time all about family. When I peeled the apples for an apple pie this morning, I thought of my mom and of a very dear friend. Making breakfast of sausages, eggs and bacon, I thought of my dad. Turkey preparation, my son Jason the master of the roast turkey. Cabbage rolls, my dear 'second' mom Olga and my son Jeff a mentor and mentee of cabbage roll heaven. Each food prepared had a memory connection to someone in my family so they were all here with me ~ I was just alone when it came to the eating of it all. Well, not all ~ my fridge and freezer filled up with leftovers.

There have been many times I have been afraid of memories….afraid that only the uncomfortable or sad memories will show up to cloud my day. Today, those memories were only granted seconds before I smiled into the joy when my paring knife slid smoothly beneath the apples skin. This has been a good Christmas with conversations, either by text, FaceTime or phone call, with several of my dear family members. 

(By the way - I ate butter tarts before brunch and apple pie before my turkey supper. No food rules allowed.)

“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - 

not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness.”

~ Bob Hope

A Single Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve morning started with tidying my home in preparation for Christmas Day - a very wise move as my home is pretty messy after four long shifts. Once the tidying was done, a shopping trip downtown for ‘Santa Claus’ gifts was next on the agenda. Hunger drew me to the A&W in the mall for a hamburger before getting groceries for tomorrow’s Christmas Dinner. By 3:30, I was in a theatre with friends watching the movie Mary, Queen of Scots. Christmas Eve’s outing was complete with a supper of fish and chips at a local restaurant. A charming, efficient and entertaining waiter was an unexpected joy while he served us. There is more to this than just a few things to do.

Last week, I decided that this year I’d be Santa’s elf - just for me. I have some gifts to unwrap, a stocking stuffed with some little things. I’ll put an orange in the toe of the stocking just before I go to bed. I’ve never done this before with the excuse that ‘It’s just me and Christmas is for kids’. I hear that said far too many times from the many of us that are single. There are a variety of reasons that we may spend Christmas away from our families. I know I’ve felt sorry for myself many times. And pouted about no presents to open, no one to fill my stocking with treats but I would be brave (a martyr?) and just get through the Christmas times as though it were just another day.

It wasn’t just decorations and presents under the tree I missed, but the busyness of Christmas shopping, the excitement of wrapping gifts, the wonderful aromas of Christmas dinner and the whole ambience that we create for our families. When we were alone, there seemed to be a void that could not be filled. Today, I still cannot bring all my family here, and I can't get to my family. First it would be impossible as we are all scattered hither and yon with small or large families of our own. Secondly, my little home just wouldn’t accommodate everyone. I do however, have the wisdom of my memories that are always with me, whether joyful or sad. The joy always wins out over the sad.

“Christmas isn’t just a day. It’s a frame of mind.”

~ Valentine Davies, Miracle on 34th Street