Christmas this year here will be brown.

As you may already know I talk about the weather a lot, many folks in Minnesota do. Last year we had so much snow, this year we've had more rain then snow. With above normal temperatures it's keeping the heating cost down, after the cooling season that was much higher than I've seen before, it's helping the household budget to catch up. The snow lovers here are unhappy, earlier this week we had .34 inches of rain, that would have been 3~4 inches of snow, meaning the ski resorts are ice but are again making snow, I'll admit I like snow at ski resorts more then on the roads and sidewalks makes getting from point A to B and back again much easier. Mother nature I think maybe taking some of the same drugs that I am, or maybe shes having some fun with Mr. Frost. Yes I do know it about climate change, being it's so close to Christmas just want to give a lighter spin, for a short time. Now that it's gotten colder the birds are coming back to the bird feeder again and the three baby squirrels are getting a thicker coat of fur and are filling out nicely, I'm almost sure they'll make it through the rest of the winter. As for the brown, I don't mind it's nice being able to get out this time of year. The snow will come sooner or later, it always does just taking each day as it comes.       

A Christmas Reflection

Last year I didn't do the Christmas decorating thing, with my Mom gone and Jane's sister Karen so sick. Putting up a Christmas tree and all that goes with it, was too much for me to handle at the time. This year I've been making up for not doing it last year. Of course I hadn't taken into account having Primary Progressive M.S. and losing abilities that I had last year. Maybe I should ask for help but knowing if I did, I'd get all kinds of help, some in the form of doing it for me, which is taking over control, that isn't the type of help I want or need. The trouble is all my memories of  doing Christmas decorating with Mom at her house, even after I had moved out. We would go to get her Christmas tree at stands that pop up after Thanksgiving or go cut one down. Her requirement was wide and not too tall. Every year we went, At the stand she always pick the one that was a bit off that no one else seemed to want. At the cut your own tree place, never did cut one down she would see a poor discarded tree that someone had already cut down then have me hold it up and give it a spin, then declare it to be her Christmas tree! Telling her the first few times how bad the flaws were, some had two trunks or shaped like an S or a C. But she would hear none of that. Saying only that it was perfect because it was going to be a Christmas tree. After we got it home I would put on her 500 lights, working to hide as many of the flaws as I could. Together we hung all of her ornaments, each  had a special meaning and many had been gifts from people so dear to her. Each year after sitting down to check our work, that's when I realized she was right it truly was a perfect Christmas tree with all the love hanging on it.


My Christmas tree is up with it's 500+ lights, yes I can feel all the love coming from it and I know she's enjoying it with me.

Karen and her sisters
Char and Jane
Passed away October 4, 2011

My Mom Adele and me
October 25 1930 ~ April 13, 2010

Here is the tree that brought back so many wonderful memories of Christmas.

Thanks for reminding what Christmas is all about

Caring, Sharing and

Love   

Christmas or Xmas

Either way you write it

You can't take Christ out of 

 CHRISTMAS or X-MAS

Both mean the exact same thing!

   

CHRISTMAS Spirit and Doing CHRISTMAS?

The spirit of Christmas isn't a once a year thing. The way I look at it, it's an act of faith, love and being kind to everyone. Not because you have to or because it's the right thing to do, so people think your a good person! It's not a thing you need to think about doing it's who you are. You don't do it for gain or praise, or because you feel someone can't do it themselves. It's something that needed doing so you did it and now it's done. So no one needs to worry about it anymore, because it's out of the way.  Random acts of kindness can be done everyday for no reason at all it's a kindness nothing more. It's like giving a free gift to yourself each time you share a kindness, just like on Christmas. 

Doing Christmas is different there's a time table and it all needs to come together before December 25th. I'll admit I love looking at the fruits of your labor it's beautiful, most years I do that too. It's so festive the shining lights the scenes lighten the heart making the world a beautiful spot to be, no matter if it's on a blanket of snow or not. It's a gift you share with everyone who drives by or comes by to enjoy it along with you. That is doing and showing the spirit of Christmas that's for sure, I for one want to Thank you for the light's you shine on a dark night. 

At times the doing part of Christmas isn't something I'm up to doing, it doesn't mean I don't have the spirit because I do! Maybe I'm just being lazy, no it isn't that not really. I've got other thing's I want to get done. You all know the doing part of Christmas takes time and work. Things that need to be done are put on hold until the holidays are over. This is only the second year in my life, that I haven't done the do Christmas thing. Do I have a reason for not doing the Christmas thing? Not really, unless you count the putting up, then trying to keep already dying tree for losing all it's needles before the the first of January. Then taking down, packing it all up then putting them away all in less then 7~8 weeks!

Having never put it down on paper, now I see why this year I didn't do it. Next year I will and try to make up for not doing it this year, so it's all good! 

SO YOU THINK DOING X-MAS TAKES CHRIST OUT OF CHRISTMAS?

Taking Christ out of Christmas is really much harder then you may think! The use of the letter X means; 1.Christ 2.Christian, so useing X-mas is only an abbreviation for Christmas. For me no matter how it's written, the spirit of Christmas, is about not what I get or how much the gift I give costs or the amount of time it took me to find just the right gift. It's about the giving that's done from the inside this can and sometimes does costs more, than the price of the most expensive gift I've ever given. To me the very best gift I've ever received is the gift God gave to everyone! Love, hope and grace in the form of his only begotten Son. About the cost of this gift we have all been given, accepting it is only the first step, sharing the love with everyone without judgement or condition the same way it was given to you. Remembering I'm flawed making me unqualified to judge anyone and if I stand in judgement of anyone so shall I also be judged, I do my best not to do that trying to just live and let live knowing we are all flawed. Realizing I'm doing the best I can with what I've got, just like every body else.