Christmas~2019...My 80th...

Christmas!  My favorite time of the year.  In the continuum of my lifetime, this will be my 80th Christmases Celebration.  I had a couple as an infant, a few as a toddler, many as a small child, 5 or 6 as a teen and the bulk as an adult.  Childhood Christmases were filled with dreams of sugar plum ferries, dolls, bicycles, roller skates and Santa Clause.  Those were some of my favorite Christmases. There were carols like, "Jingle Bells," "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas," "Frosty The Snow Man" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause."  Every child should have these memory building experiences.  Don't take those away from any of them!.

As I grew into adulthood, I think the very best Christmases were those when I realized it wasn't all about toys and presents and trees and lights...and Santa Clause.  There was something more to this holiday.  Something I came ro realize  that the season. held for me something far more precious...the true wonder of the reason for this special day.  I discovered the Christ Child!   The little Babe lying in a manger became real to me. A tiny infant born all those years ago in a remote little town called Bethlehem as prophesied by early Prophets in the Old Testament.  The Hymns "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Silent Night,"  "O Holy Night"and "Away In A Manger" took on more meaning for me.  Handell's Messiah tells the whole story and fills my soul with such amazing joy!  Isaiah Prophesied many hundreds of years before His birth:  "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bare a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

His name, as told to Joseph was to be Jesus.  He was the son of God, born to Mary who was chosen by God, Himself to be the mother of His son  She was a humble young girl, really, engaged to be married to Joseph, who was of the House of David.  Together, they accepted the responsibilities told them by the Angel of God to be the parents of this spacial child.  I cry when I hear the son "Mary, Did You Know?"  I am in awe of that Holy woman.

I have thought and thought on many occasions what it must have been like to be the mother of the Christ Child.  Having children of my own, I am aware of the responsibility that I have had to guide them and lead them and though I sometimes have failed to be 100% the proper Gospel Tutor for them, nevertheless, it is a humbling undertaking to do my part to help  bring them back to their Father in Heaven, as I promised that I would do when I undertook my calling as "Mother."

To be the Mother of the Savior of the World?  Oh, my!  That must have been overwhelming!  And God chose just the right young woman to do the job and just the right time for it to come to pass.  "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the Inn." (St. Luke 2:7). "For unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."  (St. Luke 2:11-12)

God's gift to mankind...His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ...was the beginning of Christmas.  It was literally, the First Christmas.  We celebrate His birth every year on December 25th and offer to Him our gifts of devotion, love, praise and a lifetime of adoration.  "O Come, Let Us Adore Him."  Let us show a little more kindness to each other, a little more help wherever it is needed, a little more joy in the giving of ourselves to others, and a little moreLove for mankind and for our Savior this Christmas Season.

Children have their memories of the wonders of Christmas, as they should, but as adults, we have another wonder in our lives...the wonder of a loving Savior who was born on this day to bring to pass the culmination of His Father's plan to provide a Savior for His children.  God bless us, every one and please, "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!"

In An Instant...

Your life can change...in an instant!  One moment you are on your way to celebrate with your husband the Closing of your Refinance on your home with a special lunch date at Red Lobster...and the next moment you area looking at the grill of a white pick-up truck coming right at you!  Then, BOOM, and your whole world has turned  inside out!

It was September 5, 2019, and it was my father's birthday.  I was thinking he would have been 105 years old today, had he lived!  I remember the accident vividly!  I wish I didn't!  I play it over and over in my head and wish it wasn't so.  But, I can't change anything...except my reaction to it.  I choose to have a heart full of gratitude...gratitude that I am alive.

In those first moments after the crash, I thought of my dad, whose life was snuffed out by an accident on St. George Blvd. in 1989.  His life wasn't spared!  He left us in an instant!  Then my thoughts turned to my beautiful mother, who was only 53 in 1969, and the car she was riding in was hit head-on by a drunk driver and she was rushed to the hospital with crushed ribs and both lungs deflated...she would be kept alive with chest tubes for weeks after the accident.  Her life changed in an instant.

Lastly, I thought of my first husband, my forever sweetheart, who suffered a severe Coronary event (heart attack) in 1981while driving, causing his truck to leave the road, crashing into a tree.  His life was taken from us in an instant and our lives were forever changed.

These are examples of some severe and tragic events that can happen in anyone's life, causing their lives to change.  The loss of a loved one, divorce, the loss of a job, an unplanned disaster (fire, flood, earthquake, or other natural disasters)...all of these and even others can cause one to sit and reflect on what you had that is now gone, and turn your sights to the future and survival.

In my case, I don't know how I would have been able to move on without the God\spel of Jesus Christ in my life!

Thankful...

Thursday, November 28, 2019, Dean and I gathered in Phoenix, AZ at the home of one of my best friends from childhood, Suzanne Gallo and her husband, Lew for a "Friends" Thanksgiving celebration.  We were joined by another friend from Santa Monica, Ginger (O'Bannion) Caban and her husband, Sam.  Suzanne and I go back to our early dancing days with our teacher, her Auntie, Mahri.  She lived practically next door to us on Ashland Avenue.  Gionger and I were acquaintances in High School, but she was mostly Suzanne's friend.

Ginger and Sam Caban

We learned that the 6 of us have much in common, even though we are all of different faiths and different backgrounds...yet we found we have much more in common.  We shared a delicious meal (provided by Suzanne's cousin, Tanya, who couldn't be there because her mother was ill).  The table was beautifully set by Suzanne and she and Lew were the perfect hosts.

We caught up with stories of what we have been doing since High School, laughed until we cried or couldn't catch our breath, played "Prescottopoly." and just thoroughly enjoyed each other's company.  We found that we could laugh at our "old age"...a place we never thought we would ever be...like turning words around in a sentence, not hearing what another one said and trying to repeat it back to them and got it completely wrong, or not being able to see the writing on the board game and moving someone else's piece.  It was all great fun!  I haven't been able able to let go and laugh like that in years.

Early in the day, Dean learned that his Uncle, Art, had passed away in Illinois.  He spent much of the morning on the phone with cousins and family.  That was a sad thing for him.  Art was 93 and had suffered a stroke recently.

And then, my husband went into a full blown Asthma attack, triggered either by the dogs or the dust blowing around outside through the open window.  At any rate, we had to rush him to the Emergency room for nebulizer treatments and medications.  He turned around within. a few minutes and then he was able to breath normally and relax again.  When we got back, we had a slumber party, sitting around the living room and talking until 1:00 AM!

We woke up to a nice breakfast and then lunch of leftovers and just enjoyed each other's company.  Sam helped Lew fix the dishwasher that wasn't working; Suzanne stood, and with tears in her eyes, told us all just how thankful she was to have us there with them;  and then we drove home to a half inch of snow!  What a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration.  I can't think of anything better than celebrating and giving thanks than doing it with friends or family...or sometimes both.

I am so thankful for my friends.  I am thankful for my family, who had their own celebrations with their own families.  I am thankful for my husband who puts up with me and supports me and loves me and does these amazing things with me.  I am thankful that he received the treatment he needed to get him over the hump with his Asthma attack.  I am thankful for Emergency Room personnel who give up their Thanksgiving celebrations to work and be available for such emergencies.  I am thankful for the love that brings families and friends together.  I am thankful for family memories that keep loved ones close in our hearts.  Dean had some wonderful memories of his Uncle Art.