Taking time for giving thanks

Comfort is relative…
This past Saturday, the temperature in the mountains was 43° with a wind chill considerably lower. While at a craft fair for my granddaughters’ scout troops, I saw one of the older girls who was there to help with the crafts... a teenaged girl with her hands crammed either into the pockets of a zipped-up sweatshirt or her jeans. Bare feet and flip-flops. Fashion dictates.

My ears! My ears!....
When I attended grade school, the artwork decorating the rooms and halls was related to the holidays or seasons of the month, i.e. cherry trees and little axes for George Washington’s birthday; decorated eggs, chicks and bunnies for Easter; colorful leaves for Fall in September; witches, ghosts, and jack-o-lanterns for October. November was for Pilgrims, black hats with large buckles, and varied representations of the Plymouth rock. Then, up went the paper Christmas trees and garlands, etc. for Christmas.

When my children were growing up, the day after Thanksgiving Day was the day we put up the Christmas tree and other decorations. I managed to con my youngest daughter into stringing the lights on the tree each year. Until she finally rebelled.

Irritated by the apparent disregard for Thanksgiving this year, I made up my mind to avoid anything related to Christmas until after Thanksgiving Day, especially any and all of the ’holiday’ movies that started playing on TV at least two weeks ago. I had been successful in my determination until I discovered that my granddaughter was ready for the gift-giving holiday. She insisted on listening to a radio station that was already airing their Christmas play list. Oh, well. It helped that one of the first songs I heard was "Santa, Baby" sung by Eartha Kitt.

I am thankful for so much this year….
Each year my list continues to grow. I am so grateful for:
..Two daughters and a son who have grown into wonderful adults
..Two sons-in-law and a daughter-in-law who have added so much to my life
..Ten grandchildren who must be the smartest, most creative, and best looking ‘grands’ ever to exist
..A brother who is very special (a good man… honest, sensible, trustworthy and true); my sister-in-law, his wife (a woman with a good heart and a wicked sense of humor) and her sister, (a woman whose world-view surpasses even mine in cynicism)
..Authors, with their talent to use and put together words into books that engross and enchant me
..Fathers who are willing to help with girl scout activities
..Friends, who enrich my life in so many ways

This past Thursday evening, a day that had been cold and blustery, my son-in-law introduced me to the pleasure and comfort of hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps. Yum. Consider me schnapped.

Weekends have been a study in contrasts

The past two weekends have spanned the spectrum of experiences for me...

Two weekends ago, feeling under the weather, I spent the entire time in my pajamas (or a reasonable facsimile) getting funkier as the days passed. Finally took a shower and dressed in clothes suitable for public viewing on Monday.

Last weekend my oldest daughter came into town sans younger children. She stayed with me and we had a Saturday to wander as we would. Had a wonderful brunch, then went to a fantastic store owned by a former classmate of my daughter. The store, Anthill Antiques on Cary Street here in Richmond, is full of jewelry collected by the owner. She is also a gifted artist and creates lovely necklaces from 'found' pieces. The reunion was warm and extended to me as I discovered that I knew the owner's mother (she works in the store). We realized that we (all of us, mothers and daughters) had worked at the same (now defunct) business together. Met more of my family for dinner on Saturday evening. On Sunday, my oldest grandchild arrived and we all had breakfast. On to my son's home were I had all my children and grandchildren together for the first time in over a year. What a joy to see and be with them all again! I intend to spend as much time as I can with all of them, as often as I can. They'll just have to live with it. After all, it won't be forever.

Had been waiting for an important piece of snail mail that was supposed to arrive by Feb 27th. I gave it a week extra because of the snow storm problems. Called them yesterday morning to request the mailing. They assured me it had been posted but promised to get another in the mail asap. I arrived home late yesterday evening after attending a meeting. About ten minutes later, I passed my front door and noticed a piece of mail had been slipped under the door. You guessed it... the letter I had been waiting for. It was postmarked Feb 25. Welcome to my world.

Feelin' the burn

Got myself a farmer's tan last weekend. A local county airport had an air show and I spent a large part of the day there, standing in the sun... something I normally avoid. One of my granddaughters has joined a youth auxiliary attached to the county rescue squad. She'll be learning rescue techniques and discovering if this is a venture she'd like to pursue. The squad was on-call at the airport and the auxiliary had a booth, selling bottles of water and taking contributions to support their activities. My granddaughter had to be at the squad headquarters at 9am. I took her so her mother could come later with the rest of the family, including two visiting cousins. The day was perfect for the show. Tickets were sold for rides on a WWll-era bi-plane, a small helicopter and a Cessna. I got my grandson a ticket for a ride in the Cessna, an early birthday present. He'd never flown before and the ride would last 15-20 minutes, giving him a good taste of flying. His younger brother and cousins flew in the helicopter, a short lift-off, circling, and landing flight. All of the fledglings enjoyed their first experience in flight. I got the burn while standing in line, waiting for their take-offs and landings. It hasn't been that painful... except when I forget and scratch.

All my grandchildren are now in school, learning their ABCs, guzzintas, and all kinds of history, science and math that didn't exist and hadn't happened or been discovered when I was in school. It's a good thing that children are smarter these days... they have a lot to learn. I had watched and read some of the foo-fa-rah about President Obama's planned speech to school children this week. Some schools opted out of allowing pupils to watch the speech. Some lawmakers and political pols claimed he was going to use the speech to garner votes for his agenda. One clip showed a woman saying she didn't want any of that socialistic talk stuffed down her children's throat. Take responsibility for your education and study... wonder how many of the children's votes that cost him. Sometimes I think I missed the announcement of a new directive: Go forth and be stupid. Fortunately, I just have to remember my genius grandchildren and their friends to counter my angst.