Rest

The holidays are such a hectic time, full of fancy and flutter.  It's exciting as our hearts race with anticipation of seeing the faces of family and friends when they open our carefully thought out gifts and when they bite into that lovingly baked cookie or devour the meal we spent hours planning and preparing.

The fire is lit in the fireplace.  The paper is all over the room.  The kids are laughing and playing.  An unintentional but very loud sigh comes out of nowhere.  "Well Done" we say to ourselves and we whisper a thank you for everything going just the way we planned.  We feel so blessed!

 
We sit down and we rest.  It's time to rest now and reflect on the past year.  It's time to recharge and look ahead to the New Year.

Will we find time to rest more?
To remember to praise our loved one?
To hug, kiss and say I love you as they go out the door?
To take time to pamper ourselves?
To eat better and walk among nature?
To be a friend?

The best gift I received this year was handmade by someone who didn't have much money this year.  She was able to bring everyone in my family joy with her precious gifts that she lovingly spent a lot of time creating.

     ~Do not look for rest in any pleasure, because you were not created for pleasure: you were created for joy. And if you do not know the difference between pleasure and joy you have not yet begun to live.~                                                                                                                                    Thomas Merton 

Happy New Year and May you feel the peace and joy that rest brings!

Contemplating Poverty

Sometimes people can hunger for more than bread.
It is possible that our children, our husband, our wife, do not hunger for bread, do not need clothes, do not lack a house.  But are we equally sure that none of them feels alone, abandoned, neglected, needing some affection? That, too, is poverty.    Mother Teresa

Greatest Gift this Year - Finding Blogging!

It has been one tough month and a half.  Like so many of you I follow here on blogger I ended up with the worst cold/flu I've ever had.  It couldn't have come at a worse time.  Our company was in the middle of transitioning from the sale of one company and the purchase of another.  There was so much extra work to do.  I worked through it but don't really remember it.

I am also preparing the house for my 94 year old aunt to come live with us.  We are making a room for her in the living room.  (We don't have a basement or a spare bedroom for her and she has to be on the main level)  It's a lot of work but is looking really good. 

At night I would sit with my tea and honey.  I was able to use a wonderful cup and saucer I found on my treasure hunt a few weeks before!

It has such a pretty blue hue and the silver trim is beautiful.  I don't think I've ever seen anything like it and it was not marked so I don't know where it's from.  Sipping tea from a pretty cup is always more calming to me.  Just Sunday I woke up feeling like a normal person.  I could think and see outside the cloud.  Thank God!  

But now it was time to catch up on work and getting ready for Christmas.  I did so much over the past few days (including Sunday) that I think I hurt myself last night.  Every muscle aches and I ended up feeling very weak and had an episode of panic.  I decided I'd better stop and take it easy.  I went straight to my friends on blogger that always have words of encouragement and make me feel peaceful.  

I am so happy I found "blogging" and sure wish I'd found it sooner.  But I'm here now and can't wait to figure it all out so I'm a better blogger.  There is so much talent on here and so many different personalities.  I also notice that we span the physical borders of land and sea.  I like that about this place.  We are all here for each other no matter where we live and what our circumstances are.

A very Merry Christmas to everyone who chooses to share and give of themselves so people like me can find them and receive their gifts of time, wisdom, joy, help, tutorials and love!

What will you do to help someone this Holiday Season?

I am going to serve my son when he can do nothing but study.

I am going to help a friend who needs her car repaired.

I am going to get food to the homeless.

 

May joy be felt among all this season! 

During this time of celebration, gift buying, decorating, baking and spending time with our families we tend to forget those who seem to struggle more emotionally and financially because of this time of year.  Some don't have family members or loved ones to spend time with.  Some are not working and can't shop for presents for their babies.  Some can't put food on the table as it is let alone bake extra for the season or for others.

I tend to focus on those less fortunate.  How can I serve others?  My friends who are out of work or who are alone come to the front of my mind.  I thank God for my blessings and pray for them to be blessed.  I am not homeless.  I have family and work.  I am warm.  I can help others.  The depression and sadness I see come over some people during this time breaks my heart.

(My son would kill me if he knew I put this picture of him on here)

He hasn't slept in 24 hours and is studying for his chemistry final.  He is going to be a doctor like his Grampa. He looks kind of mad in this picture.  I'm bothering him while he's trying to focus but it's exam time for our kids who are in college.  They are so stressed out and it's painful to watch them.  This is more true with really hard majors or double majors.  I remember pulling all nighters but when you see what colleges are demanding of the kids these days it looks much harder. It's harder if the young person has to work on top of going to school full time.  In my day it wasn't as hard.  In my parent's day it was even easier (according to my dad, the doctor).