In the words of the new song by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton..."You Can't Make Old Friends".
There really IS something very special about having a shared history with someone from your past...someone with whom you've maintained a relationship for years....Someone you can pick up a conversation with, even though you haven't seen each other for weeks, months, years. The threads holding you together are shared memories of earlier times.
Sure we still need to welcome new friends into our lives. They can bring a freshness when things may be getting too comfortable or a little stagnant. Plus the only thing keeping them from becoming OLD friends is time.
We seem so transient, mobile, these days, but even with so much amazing technology, disconnected. It takes work -from both ends-to keep friends close. I hope that I never forget the value of old friends and that we've raised our kids to know their value, too...because "you can't make old friends".
Thanks to all the old friends and the new ones for being such a presence in my life this year and all of them...
When it comes to nostalgia, is there anything that evokes more memories than the Christmas season? To me, reminiscing is the best part. Whether it goes all the way back to my childhood, thinking about Christmases when our boys were younger, or just thinking back to last year with the grandkids, there's nothing better!
I remember the excitement as a kid, leading up to Christmas. Taking rides to see the lights, visiting a live Nativity scene at a local church, finding a tree at the town tree lot, paying a visit to Santa at a department store... I'm pretty sure I had an extensive list for Santa, but when the magical night arrived, I forgot that list and loved everything under the tree. Our house was always the hub for the extended family's celebration and sharing the holidays then, with those who are now no longer with us, makes those memories even sweeter.
Christmas as a Mom brought a big responsibility of making Christmas as special for the boys as it had been for me. Some years, we nailed it, sometimes not so much. The boys may tell you their Christmas memories always involved dorky sweaters (and judging from the pictures, they may be right!) but my memories are different. I remember trying to keep them calm, during Mass, before the chaos started. I remember the year one son got a drum set from my folks (not sure what I did to deserve THAT!) or the other year, an uncle thought space guns that made 12 different sounds were a good gift idea for all three boys (Payback the following year was his three too-young daughters received make-up kits, complete with nail polish and lipstick) We had our share of football, basketball and baseball stuff, GI Joes
(or the cheaper version, GI Jim) and building blocks. Back then, what I wouldn't have done for a baby doll!
Having grandkids has added another layer of enjoyment for me at Christmas. They make the trek here and their joy and excitement brings back so many memories of when our boys were that age. And make new memories for Grandpa and I with their joy and innocence.
I've always been a traditionalist but I've learned that when you have a family of your own, you'd best be flexible. There were years when sick kids kept us from making the rounds...years, because of work or the kids sharing the holiday with in-laws- when everyone isn't in the same place at the same time. But you make it work, because it's family and it's Christmas.
I hope you've been blessed with wonderful Christmas memories, too, and that this Christmas is full of new ones for you and yours.
How I wish I could sleep like I did, as a kid! I really didn't appreciate it then. In fact, I think I fought sleep 50 or more years ago...a nap mat in kindergarten... having to come in from playing when the street lights came on as a youngster. getting into the house before curfew as a teenager... All signaled a time to sleep but I don't think I savored it then like I would now. Of course, back then, the biggest worries I had were which cereal I was going to have for breakfast or who was going to come out and play. The good old days!
For years, hubby has used the term "deader than 4:00" --meaning the carousers and party animals are usually in bed by then, workers aren't up and at 'em yet (unless they're a shift worker) and all is quiet for that brief hour of the day. Unless you're in our house ...where I'm wandering around or laying awake, trying to find that elusive peace.
It's not like I have huge worries now (although you never stop worrying about your kids...your grandkids... your spouse...your future...your friends.., do you?) The truth is I can't do a damn thing about any of it at 4:00 in the morning! But it doesn't matter. I remain awake.
I try different techniques in the hopes of nodding off. First, I start off with praying. If that doesn't work, counting my blessings, of which there are plenty, is next. If I'm still awake, I play a game of "If I won the lottery, who would I share the riches with?" The answers vary, depending on how I feel about that particular relative (hear that, boys?) or institution on that particular night. Then I start worrying about family members and friends I left out of the lottery game! Oh, heck!
My husband, who seldom suffers from this malady, swears I need help. And I probably do. But I know I'm not alone. From conversations with others, it sounds like a lot of women struggle to go to sleep and stay asleep.
Maybe some entrepreneur out there could start marketing woman-size kindergarten nap mats. Any takers?
I've never had a lustrous mane but what's with this thinning hair? It's not like I've treated my hair well thru the years, but come on! One more thing to chalk up to the aging process, I guess.
The first time I turned my locks over to Clairol, ( Loreal and any other haircoloring brand) was 45 years ago and it's been an adventure ever since. I have had every color in the haircolor spectrum and some haven't even been a human hair shade! But I just do it over...and over and over.... I'm not even sure what my real color is but I'm pretty sure it's peppered with grey by now.
I've been blessed with a wonderful hairdresser for the past 30 years who never cast judgement on the color and steered me thru decades of hairstyles. She could've steered me away from the "perm" decade in the 80's. But we made it through that phase and I'm still with her.
It's funny how we lose hair in one place and sprout it in another. I'm not as bad as the woman who remarked that she went to brush a hair off her lapel and realized it was attached to her chin! Not yet-anyway... And thank goodness, we're not like the male species who, sometimes, develop eyebrows like Andy Rooney,...or get a healthy crop of hair growing out of their ears...or noses... Again, not yet!
There's really no good reason for me to have a hair my head. But I'll keep on coloring, cutting, growing, plucking... This aging process is EXHAUSTING, isn't it?
I'm a Mom of boys and, as a girl from a family made up predominately of girls (3 sisters and one brother), I didn't know what I was in for. I popped out three boys in 5 years so I was going to find out in a hurry, wasn't I? I'm no expert but I offer up these tidbits...things I've learned through the years...to young Moms in the same spot.
#Forget about grass. I'm pretty sure the backyard lawn of our old house, from years ago, still has bald spots where first base, second base, third base and home plate were....
#Boys don't sit...they plop. I've lost count of the number of sofas and recliners we've gone through! And I'm not sure they outgrow that habit....
#Boys cannot whisper, or walk softly. I don't think they're physically capable of doing either....
# Brothers, walking towards each other in a hallway, can't resist tapping or shoving each other...
#Boys have terrible aim when using the john. It should be so easy...I have never understood that!
#There is nothing quite as distinctive or disgusting a smell as a sweaty, muddy football uniform.
#There will be times when you go to the fridge or the pantry and, despite your trip to the grocery store yesterday, will find nothing to eat.
I'm not grumblin'...raising boys was a challenge but the chatter, teasing, wrestling all made our home a lively one....and I loved that! And as an old Mom, I can tell you, at some point, you'll have your lawn...your bathroom will be spotless... there will be lunch meat in the fridge...The chaos will be gone---and you'll miss it.
That's something I've heard my entire lifetime. It's not that I'm this on-the-ball chick, who's always got something going on, somewhere to go... I'm just one of those people who kind of walks ahead of herself. Sorta like my face arrives a few seconds ahead of my body, in this leaning fashion. It's always been that way...probably always will be.
That could explain my lack of balance, couldn't it? I fall alot...to the point where no one rushes to my aid anymore. "She's gonna fall" was a term coined by a dear friend, to warn others of my clumsiness. It's that frequent of an occcurence. I'm thinking I'd better learn to carry myself properly, as I head further into the golden years. We joke that when my time's up, it'll probably be because of a fall... And that folks will say it would've been funny , if it hadn't been so damn tragic!
Next time you see me walking, what may seem like rushing around to you, is really strolling along to me...but I'm working on it...
I have a favor to ask.... Would somebody stop me!!! The holiday magazine covers have just about weakened me into thinking, once again, that I can bake!
Anyone who knows me on Facebook, knows that I have met with failure, time after time, when I have attempted to produce the beautiful Christmas trees, stars and more that adorn these covers. Whatever makes someone who hates measuring, sucks at math and has zero patience in just about everything, think they can recreate these beauties, is beyond me!
Those who know me know that I'm a sucker for the fragrance of baked goods,wafting through the house...especially this time of year. After feeling it was a cozy thing to do a few years ago, I attempted to bake and then posted a picture of my creations on Facebook. The result was some dear souls, anonymously, leaving boxes and tins of cookies on our porch for my deprived family. Some folks are just so sweet. I tried the same thing the following year but those sweet folks caught on to my ploy.
I can cook with some of the best of 'em. A dash of this, a splash of that can enhance a dish and truth be told, some of my finest creations have come about because of that kind of experimentation. But try that with cookies? They can puff up, become distorted, look nothing like the magazine covers, make the house smell nothing like the holidays (burning cookies are the worst!) or just plain taste awful!
Maybe God just made some people to be non-bakers. Why else would he have allowed the good people at Glade to come up with their Apple Cinnamon fragrance for their wall plug-ins? Just somebody...please stop me!
P.S. This is, in no way, a solicitation, for home-baked goods. Those who know me well know that self-control is also a weakness I have this time of year. Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season to you!
