"Happy New Year" is the phrase on all our lips now that Christmas has come and gone. Well, happy or not depends on you and me. I heard an old adage, "start out as you mean to go on", and I think it fits the way I feel about 2008. If I can get the new year started right I may be able stick with it.
My goals for the new year include better spiritual health, better physical health, better money management and, last but not least, to be content. To savor every moment of the short life we have. To love more and complain less. To smile more and praise much more. I have some wonderful people in my life and I want to let them know that I am aware of that fact.
My goals may seem too abstract for some of you, but I'm still working on the specifics...I have a few more days. :)
So, Happy New Year all you wonderful people!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
The Christmas Chair
Did I tell you I have wonderful kids? Well, I do. The story I am about to relate is a prime example....
In January of last year we lost Dad. It was devastating. The rock, the anchor of our family. The voice of reason in an unreasonable world. The loving patriarch of the Bray clan and my dad whom I love very much. He was gone on to a better place and all we had left were the memories.
When the first wave of grief subsided Mother began to ask what everyone would like to remember Dad by and the cherished belongings began to go to first one and then another. I looked around to find something to help me not lose sight of Dad for a while longer and my eyes fell on the big blue chair he always sat in. The chair where he read his Bible, listened to the radio, held the little ones on his lap and preached to the young scholars the Word of God. The chair where he fell asleep only to wake up and tell us a joke as if he'd been listening the whole time. The chair where he spent most of the last year of his life. And I decided that I wanted Dad's chair. Mother was agreeable, but naturally not quite ready to part with such a reminder of Dad, so I was patient.
By Thanksgiving I began to think about not having Dad around for his most favorite time of the year and again I thought about the chair and how much it would mean to have it to look at and sit in every day. By now the chair could come home, but how to get it there? No one offered any help.
On Christmas Eve when I arrived at my son's house there was new furniture in the house. How nice! And a big chair was wrapped in Christmas paper for me. Oh my goodness, I thought, they bought me a chair because I can't get Dad's chair home. But when I began to unwrap the paper the blue fabric began to show and I was overwhelmed with the joy of beholding Dad's chair sitting right there in the living room. The tears began to flow and I couldn't speak except to say...Daddy's chair....My son hugged me and laughed and began to tell me how they sneaked off to Mother's and spent the day with her and the rest of the family to bring my chair home. How they had been gone most of the weekend and I didn't even know it. How they all had such a good time at Christmas Tree Lane and nobody breathed a word to me about it. I speak with my family in that area every day so that was really a feat! They borrowed a van and drove 5 hours to Madera and 5 hours home in two days, just to bring me Daddy's chair for Christmas. It was the best Christmas ever.
The blue chair now resides in a place of honor in my living room. I have a bright floor lamp next to the chair and a table to hold my books, radio, telephone, iced tea and whatever gadgets I decide to order from the catalog! It's almost like he's there when I sit in the chair and relax. I can hear his voice offering me advice or encouragement, and love...
So...do I have wonderful kids, or what?
In January of last year we lost Dad. It was devastating. The rock, the anchor of our family. The voice of reason in an unreasonable world. The loving patriarch of the Bray clan and my dad whom I love very much. He was gone on to a better place and all we had left were the memories.
When the first wave of grief subsided Mother began to ask what everyone would like to remember Dad by and the cherished belongings began to go to first one and then another. I looked around to find something to help me not lose sight of Dad for a while longer and my eyes fell on the big blue chair he always sat in. The chair where he read his Bible, listened to the radio, held the little ones on his lap and preached to the young scholars the Word of God. The chair where he fell asleep only to wake up and tell us a joke as if he'd been listening the whole time. The chair where he spent most of the last year of his life. And I decided that I wanted Dad's chair. Mother was agreeable, but naturally not quite ready to part with such a reminder of Dad, so I was patient.
By Thanksgiving I began to think about not having Dad around for his most favorite time of the year and again I thought about the chair and how much it would mean to have it to look at and sit in every day. By now the chair could come home, but how to get it there? No one offered any help.
On Christmas Eve when I arrived at my son's house there was new furniture in the house. How nice! And a big chair was wrapped in Christmas paper for me. Oh my goodness, I thought, they bought me a chair because I can't get Dad's chair home. But when I began to unwrap the paper the blue fabric began to show and I was overwhelmed with the joy of beholding Dad's chair sitting right there in the living room. The tears began to flow and I couldn't speak except to say...Daddy's chair....My son hugged me and laughed and began to tell me how they sneaked off to Mother's and spent the day with her and the rest of the family to bring my chair home. How they had been gone most of the weekend and I didn't even know it. How they all had such a good time at Christmas Tree Lane and nobody breathed a word to me about it. I speak with my family in that area every day so that was really a feat! They borrowed a van and drove 5 hours to Madera and 5 hours home in two days, just to bring me Daddy's chair for Christmas. It was the best Christmas ever.
The blue chair now resides in a place of honor in my living room. I have a bright floor lamp next to the chair and a table to hold my books, radio, telephone, iced tea and whatever gadgets I decide to order from the catalog! It's almost like he's there when I sit in the chair and relax. I can hear his voice offering me advice or encouragement, and love...
So...do I have wonderful kids, or what?
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Friends
This has been an eventful week and mostly because I have friends. They say if you find one true friend in your lifetime then you are fortunate and if you find two, then you are truly blessed. I have had many friends in my life. Not just acquaintances, but true friends. I usually only have one or two at a time, but throughout the years of my life I have been blessed with many true friendships. Environment and circumstances have caused us to drift apart, but if one friendship is lost through distance or circumstance another one seems to spring up in it's place. I don't take friendships lightly, I treasure them. And for that reason I have laughed and cried this week.
I spent most of Tuesday at the funeral of a friend who meant a lot to me even though we were not that close. It was a very sad day and it certainly took a toll on my psyche. I lost sleep over the dread of attending the funeral because it's something I've had to do a lot of and it doesn't get any easier. On the bright side, one of my closest friends went to the funeral with me and we saw many of our friends and acquaintances that we hadn't seen for a long time. I embraced many people that have become a part of my life through my work in the traffic signal business. It turned out to be a "not so bad" day because of my friends.
On Thursday I had dinner with my children and another of my closest friends, the woman who is like a grandmother to my son and helped me raise him. We oohed and ahhed over my son's wedding pictures and the photos of her grandchildren. We shared a wonderful dinner reminiscing about my son's growing up years. But most of all we celebrated our friendship, something I treasure very much.
Friends cost us something from time to time, but they also bring us some of the happiest moments of our lives. I am thankful for friends.
I spent most of Tuesday at the funeral of a friend who meant a lot to me even though we were not that close. It was a very sad day and it certainly took a toll on my psyche. I lost sleep over the dread of attending the funeral because it's something I've had to do a lot of and it doesn't get any easier. On the bright side, one of my closest friends went to the funeral with me and we saw many of our friends and acquaintances that we hadn't seen for a long time. I embraced many people that have become a part of my life through my work in the traffic signal business. It turned out to be a "not so bad" day because of my friends.
On Thursday I had dinner with my children and another of my closest friends, the woman who is like a grandmother to my son and helped me raise him. We oohed and ahhed over my son's wedding pictures and the photos of her grandchildren. We shared a wonderful dinner reminiscing about my son's growing up years. But most of all we celebrated our friendship, something I treasure very much.
Friends cost us something from time to time, but they also bring us some of the happiest moments of our lives. I am thankful for friends.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Wrapping As An Art Form
It's Christmas and millions of people the world over are buying and wrapping gifts for their loved ones.
I had a friend once that could wrap presents so beautifully that you didn't really want to open them and mess up the pretty package. She could make a simple box look like a million bucks! I loved it when her husband was the president of our company because he would always ask her to buy gifts for "the girls in the office" and they would come wrapped in ribbons and bows and flowers and ornaments all topping the most gorgeous wrapping paper you've ever seen. She put a lot of time and effort (and money!) into each package and you could really tell. It was a work of art. Sometimes the ornaments were a gift themselves.
I have never been all that handy with wrapping. Maybe you have to really enjoy that part of the gift giving exercise and I think I always like the gift opening part better. I mean, after all...the wrap will come off eventually and land in a heap to be carried to the trash bin or, if you are really frugal, possibly to line the drawers and cabinets. And the main event is the gift, isn't it? So I do a reasonably nice job with whatever paper I have on hand and if there is a sticky bow to put on it that matches, well hey, that's good enough isn't it? Sometimes I even tie a ribbon around the package and make curly ends of the ribbon with my scissors if I'm feeling really festive. The presents look nice, not special, but nice.
How well do you wrap?
I had a friend once that could wrap presents so beautifully that you didn't really want to open them and mess up the pretty package. She could make a simple box look like a million bucks! I loved it when her husband was the president of our company because he would always ask her to buy gifts for "the girls in the office" and they would come wrapped in ribbons and bows and flowers and ornaments all topping the most gorgeous wrapping paper you've ever seen. She put a lot of time and effort (and money!) into each package and you could really tell. It was a work of art. Sometimes the ornaments were a gift themselves.
I have never been all that handy with wrapping. Maybe you have to really enjoy that part of the gift giving exercise and I think I always like the gift opening part better. I mean, after all...the wrap will come off eventually and land in a heap to be carried to the trash bin or, if you are really frugal, possibly to line the drawers and cabinets. And the main event is the gift, isn't it? So I do a reasonably nice job with whatever paper I have on hand and if there is a sticky bow to put on it that matches, well hey, that's good enough isn't it? Sometimes I even tie a ribbon around the package and make curly ends of the ribbon with my scissors if I'm feeling really festive. The presents look nice, not special, but nice.
How well do you wrap?
Sunday, December 9, 2007
A Nice Cup of Tea
The weather outside is frightful....it's been raining and blustering all weekend with a few bouts of beautiful sunshine. Wonderful weather for this season.
One thing I love about this time of year is a great big cup of hot tea. It warms you up on the inside and it's great for warming your hands, too. My favorite tea is Bigelow's brand English Tea Time. The taste is a little heartier than your average Lipton tea and with a little sugar it's the best I've ever tasted. I know a lot of people choose flavored teas and they are welcome to them. I've tasted some of those flavored teas: fruit flavored, herb flavored, flower flavored and even Earl Grey. They are not bad. I just like the robust flavor of the English Tea...and with a nice scone,wow...it just doesn't get much better than that. I wrap my cold hands around the large steaming cup and I get the sensation of a warm crackling fireplace....but that's another blog. :) What's your cup o' tea?
One thing I love about this time of year is a great big cup of hot tea. It warms you up on the inside and it's great for warming your hands, too. My favorite tea is Bigelow's brand English Tea Time. The taste is a little heartier than your average Lipton tea and with a little sugar it's the best I've ever tasted. I know a lot of people choose flavored teas and they are welcome to them. I've tasted some of those flavored teas: fruit flavored, herb flavored, flower flavored and even Earl Grey. They are not bad. I just like the robust flavor of the English Tea...and with a nice scone,wow...it just doesn't get much better than that. I wrap my cold hands around the large steaming cup and I get the sensation of a warm crackling fireplace....but that's another blog. :) What's your cup o' tea?
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